


Picture Show

by eggboi97



Series: Picture Show [1]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Al has a Tail, Alastor is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie and Vaggie are the Mom Friends, Dancing, Deviates From Canon, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Mild Gore, Musicals, Nightmares, OC has major anxiety, OC makes bad decisions, Panic Attacks, Soft Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, like...a lot, mild violence, second minor OC later on, sorry - Freeform, that escalated quickly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:55:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 69,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24634189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggboi97/pseuds/eggboi97
Summary: Seeking shelter, a timid demon stumbles across the Hazbin Hotel just days after its grand opening. There's just one problem- she doesn't talk to anyone until they've fully gained her trust. To make matters worse, a certain radio demon has taken an interest in her, and will not leave her alone. What could possibly be so entertaining about someone who won't even talk to you?Now with 100% more angst!
Relationships: Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/Original Character(s), Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/Original Female Character(s), Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Series: Picture Show [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049756
Comments: 51
Kudos: 203





	1. Intro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6/16/2020- Changed formatting for the intro and first two chapters so this thing is easier to read.

_How to survive landing in Hell in the midst of a purge:_

_Step 1: play dead._

_Step 2: wait until the coast is clear, then steal a trench coat off of a dead body._

_She was completely naked, anyhow, and the body wouldn’t need that coat anymore._

_The first week was spent wandering around this strange city, in a coat nabbed off of a dead body. It was covered in blood stains and smelled awful, but it would do until permanent housing could be found._

_If permanent housing would be found._

_Not eating for a week was…interesting, to say the least. Around the fourth day, her body didn’t even register hunger. It was just…emptiness. A pit where her stomach once was. It showed in her face, but to be honest, she had no idea what she looked like, and she was too afraid to find out._

_At some point, she discovered a crowd in an alleyway, listening to an unusually cheerful song on TV. They were all laughing at her, mocking her. She tried to jump up to see what everyone was gawking at, but the demon in the very back towered over everyone._

_A poster on the wall depicted a terrifying figure that she couldn’t describe. Above his head were the words **BEWARE: HIM!**_

_Two days later, she came across a promising sight: a building, towering above the landscape. It looked just like something a little kid would throw together when given random toys to play with. On top was a lit-up sign reading HAZBIN HOTEL._

_Perhaps there was vacancy._


	2. Chapter 2

There was about a 50/50 chance that this could be a good move. It could, alternatively, go horribly wrong. The tiny demon didn’t want to think about _how_ this could go wrong, but this was _Hell_ —could anything really go right?

After knocking on the door, she could faintly hear two female voices speaking to each other.

“It’s 2:00 in the morning,” one said.

“Should we risk it?”

“I don’t know…”

Moments later, a demon that was just slightly taller than the tiny demon answered the door. Her blonde, curly hair was tied up haphazardly in a ponytail, and she had her pajamas on. She looked as if she was in no shape to be allowing a guest into the hotel, yet she did anyway. Noting the harmless demeanor of the guest, the taller demon let her in. “This is a…weird time to be letting a guest in,” she began. “But you don’t look like you want to hurt anyone, so…” she cleared her throat, “Hi! Welcome to the Happy Hotel! We’re here to serve any demon looking for a path to redemption.”

_Redemption?_

“I’m Charlie, princess of Hell and heir to the throne. What’s your name?”

No response. The tiny demon glanced at the floor.

“Hello?”

She walked over to a corner, then sat on the floor, letting her tangled hair fall over her face, and she hyperventilated into her knees. Charlie approached her, cautiously. “Well,” she said softly. “I take it you’re new here?”

The tiny demon nodded.

“Figured. I know you’re scared, that’s normal. Tell you what, I won’t make you talk but I do need you to write down your name so I at least know what to call you. I’ll give you a room close to mine so you can come find me if you need anything.”

Charlie disappeared for a moment, returning with a pad of paper, a pen, and a small black key. She handed the notepad to the tiny demon along with the pen, and, in very neat cursive, she wrote her name. Then, she handed the note to Charlie. “Uh…hey Vaggie?” she called. Another demon, with long white hair and a red X over her left eye, appeared. “Can you read this?”

Charlie handed the note to Vaggie, who took a moment to read the name. “Eden,” Vaggie said suddenly.

“Eden, is it?” Charlie asked. Eden nodded.

“Well, follow me—” Charlie looked back at Vaggie, “—us. We’ll show you your room, but first, we need to get rid of that…smelly coat you have on.”

Charlie offered her hand to Eden, who reluctantly took it. Charlie pulled Eden up, then let go. Eden took note of what looked like a tuxedo cat passed out drunk on the concierge’s desk. At this point, it didn’t surprise her. She followed her new friends to Charlie’s room. It was completely quiet, save for the sound of a leaky pipe somewhere in the distance and Charlie’s bunny slippers scuffing against the floor as she walked.

Upon entering the room, Vaggie went over to the bed and picked up her phone, putting earbuds in but leaving one ear open. Charlie opened her closet. “Some of my clothes might be too big for you, but it’ll be enough to start for now. We’ll go shopping soon.”

Charlie pulled out several garments: two dresses, three blouses, two skirts, a pair of pants, a set of pajamas, and a pair of flats—the latter of which she took back because they’d be far too big. “Give her my flats,” Vaggie said.

“You sure?” Charlie responded.

“Yeah. I won’t miss them that much,” Vaggie shrugged.

Charlie shrugged, searching through Vaggie’s side of the closet for the shoes. When she found them, she plopped them on top of the pile. Then, she picked up the pile and the room key. “Follow me,” she said to Eden, leading her a few doors down the hall. She unlocked room 212, and let her in. Charlie placed the pile of clothes on the bed. “Do me a favor and throw that coat out the window ASAP,” Charlie said. “Yes, I’m serious.”

She turned and headed for the door, opening it before saying, “I’ll bring your breakfast up in the morning. Good night.”

She shut the door behind her. Eden stripped the coat off of her body, pried open the window, and chucked the coat out, finally feeling freed of its disgusting form. Then, she went to the bathroom to cleanse her body of the stench.

Eden never realized how much she needed the shower, but the warmth of the water alone was very much welcomed. She washed her body and her hair, and it felt like she was alive again.

Stepping out of the shower, she examined herself in the mirror. Her skin was now a greyish-pink and, while she retained her freckles, they were more cartoonish, forming triangles on either cheek. Her hair was much longer now, reaching to her lower back, and was a deep navy blue. The most shocking part was her eyes: one looked pretty normal, with a regular black pupil, but a yellowed sclera. Her other eye had a black sclera and white iris with no pupil. She sighed, accepting that this was what she looked like now.

Eden put on the pajamas that Charlie gave her. They fit her well, if only because Charlie’s body measurements were close to her own. It was her height that she worried about—Charlie had to be a good five or six inches taller than Eden, and the dresses and bottoms she had been given would probably be too long for her.

But she couldn’t complain. She owned _nothing_ —it was better than having to walk around in a coat that smelled like actual death.

Eden crawled into the bed, melting into the mattress. Having slept on the ground for the last week, she knew that her sleep would come quickly and be deep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden meets the gang...

Eden woke up the next morning and, for the first time since she could remember, she had gotten a full night’s sleep with no interruptions. She actually felt rested, and her mind stayed quiet.

She looked over at the nightstand where a small digital clock had been placed. 6:30 AM, roughly. Eden didn’t feel like she needed more sleep, so she got up and showered again—the _awful_ scent of the trench coat she had worn for a week still lingering. This time, after wetting her hair, she detangled it with her fingers. The knots came out surprisingly easily, but she had nothing to hold the style. Then, a weird idea came to mind.

She could use some lotion.

A small bottle of it was on the bathroom vanity, and she used the entire thing to coat her strands. She knew it wouldn’t work well, but she tried. Then, she headed to her closet to pick something to wear.

The clothes Charlie had lent her somehow didn’t shock her. Not only did Charlie look like a doll, but she also _dressed_ like one, apparently. Eden appreciated that, in a way. She had never been opposed to frills and lace, but Charlie’s wardrobe seemed somewhat dated. That was odd, considering how modern her pajamas had been.

Really, though, she found Charlie’s entire demeanor to be rather odd for being the Princess of Hell. Shouldn’t she be more sinister? Evil? Yet here she was, being an _absolute bean,_ truly incapable of causing harm to anyone. Vaggie, too, though Eden couldn’t really figure out what Vaggie’s role was in this whole thing.

She finally settled on a red sleeveless dress with a bow tie on the collar. When she put on the flats that Vaggie had lent her, they were a tad too small—but she’d make do. The dress also was cut at an awkward length- just slightly below her knees, but not quite to her calves. Again, she couldn’t complain—it was either wearing Charlie’s clothes, a stinky trench coat, or nothing at all.

At 7:30 AM, someone knocked on Eden’s door. Eden cautiously opened the door, hoping it was good news.

Thankfully, it was Charlie, up bright and early with a short stack of blueberry pancakes, some scrambled eggs, and a glass of orange juice. “Good morning!” she greeted, handing the tray to Eden. Eden cracked a smile in response before returning to a straight face. “Do you mind if I come in?” she asked. Eden shrugged, then took her tray to the desk that was next to her bed. She put it down, then sat down. Charlie had followed, then sat on Eden’s unmade bed.

“So, I want you to meet the others today,” she began. “There are a few people you haven’t met yet. Everyone’s eating breakfast right now, so…come down when you’re done eating, I guess?”

Eden nodded.

Charlie so desperately wanted to ask Eden why she wasn’t talking, but decided against it. Usually, the shock of everything would’ve dissipated by now. She thought about how odd it was that Eden didn’t speak, but perhaps she just wasn’t adjusting well. It happens—what can you really do about it?”

“Well, I uh…guess I’m going to go eat now. See you soon?”

No response.

“See you soon.”

Charlie left Eden’s room quietly, even closing the door so slowly that it barely made a sound when it shut. Eden finished her food quickly—it had been her first meal in over a week, and it was delicious. _Whoever made this really knows how to cook_ , she thought to herself.

She got up and sat on her bed to mentally prepare herself for the disaster that she knew was about to unfold. As she sat, though, she felt something hard underneath her. She dug through the blankets and pulled out a phone.

 _Her_ phone.

How did it get here?! Did it even work in Hell? She pressed the Home button and, sure enough, the screen lit up, showing her lock screen which was a photo of her and…some…guy?

Who was that?

She recognized herself, but not the person next to her. She sighed, standing up and putting her phone on the desk. She grabbed her key and stuck it down the front of her dress. She took a deep breath as she shut off the light and left her room.

\--

“God, Angel!” Vaggie groaned. “You could be a little more sensitive, you know.”

“Eh,” the spider replied, paying more attention to his nails, “Sounds boring.”

“At least _try_ ,” Charlie interjected. “Maybe you’ll like her!”

“Look, toots,” Angel peeked up at Charlie, “I never said I won’t like her. I’m just…I don’t know! I’ve never met her.”

“You will.”

Eden appeared as if on cue, although nobody noticed her entrance. All anyone knew was that she was standing really far away from everyone, cautiously observing from afar. Though her expression was blank, she was taking note of everyone sitting at the bar—including the cat she’d seen passed out the night before. Charlie approached her. “Eden!” she greeted. “Glad to see you. Wanna meet everyone?”

Eden nodded.

“Come on, take a seat!”

Charlie led Eden to the bar. Eden climbed onto an empty stool, leaving one between her and Angel. She noticed Angel’s face, and noticed that one of his eyes looked just like hers. _Interesting_ , she thought. She folded her hands and looked around the room. “So,” Charlie began, “Everyone, this is Eden. She’s a…a little quiet, but…yeah!”

Charlie struck a small pose, then looked around the room. There was much anticipation from the others as they waited for Eden to speak. Instead, she greeted everyone with a meek wave, making eye contact with no one. Charlie continued, “Eden, this is Husk, Angel, and you’ve met Vaggie so…has anyone seen Niffty?”

“Nope,” Angel said.

“She’s probably cleaning the rooms right now,” Vaggie suggested. “But, Eden, you don’t need to worry about you. She’s tiny and pretty harmless.”

Eden looked at Vaggie to acknowledge her. Vaggie swore she vaguely saw her mouth, “Okay.”

Angel was eying up Eden’s body, from the top of her head all the way to her toes. His smile curled into a smirk. “Ha,” he chuckled, staring at Eden’s chest, “Kid, you’re _flat_.”

Vaggie smacked Angel’s arm. “Knock it off, Angel.”

“What? Not like she’s gonna respond to me.”

Eden bit her bottom lip, feeling her face redden and fighting the urge to cry. It was the next comment that Angel made that got to her the most.

“Cat got your tongue, kid? Husk, you better give it back! Actually, now that I think of it…keep her tongue, not like she’s ever gonna need it anyway!”

Eden hopped off her stool and ran out of the room. “Huh,” Angel shrugged, “What’s her problem?”

“Angel, _stop it,_ ” Vaggie scolded.

“Ah! Just wait until she meets Smiles. Oh _boy_. “

Vaggie’s eye widened. “Uh, Charlie?”

“Hmm?” Charlie responded. Vaggie gestured, “come here,” at Charlie, who approached her and sat on the stool next to her. Vaggie turned around, back facing Angel. “What are we going to do about…” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“About what?”

“Alastor…”

“I don’t know!”

“I think we need to keep him away from—”

Suddenly, a scream could be heard from the second floor, catching everyone’s attention. They all stared at the ceiling, and once the screaming stopped, you could hear a pin drop.

“Huh!” Husk chuckled sarcastically, “You’re a little late for that.”

Vaggie growled and summoned her spear. She ran upstairs.

\--

Miraculously, Eden’s door didn’t close all the way. Vaggie kicked it open, pointing the spear at what she expected to be Alastor hovering over Eden. “Stop. Right. There,” she threatened, breathing heavily. Then, her eye widened, realizing that no one was there besides Eden cowering in her bed, covering her face with her blanket. “Eden, _what_ was that?”

Eden said nothing, but pointed to behind Vaggie. Vaggie turned around, being met with Alastor’s shadow. She pulled her spear on it. The shadow waved before dissolving into nothing. Vaggie retracted her spear, then went to sit on Eden’s bed. “It’s okay,” she said. “He’s gone and he won’t mess with you anymore.”

Eden relaxed a bit, feeling safer with Vaggie sitting on her bed.

“Things like that happen all the time around here. It scares me…with someone like you being here…you know?”

“Yeah,” Eden whispered, barely audible.

Vaggie shifted her body so that her legs were on Eden’s bed, allowing her to look more closely at the guest. “I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you. And I’m not gonna make you talk. I don’t care what Angel has to say, you _don’t_ have to talk.”

From reflex, Eden signed, “Thank you.”

“Oh, you sign?” Vaggie asked. She signed and said, “You’re welcome. Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Eden signed, followed by signing that she was afraid to talk.

“I get that,” Vaggie said, sliding off the bed. “Now, come with me. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone in here. And I’ll make sure Angel doesn’t mess with you anymore.”

As Vaggie left the room, Eden got out of bed and followed her downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to figure out formatting on this thing so sorry if this all appears REAL janky at first.  
> 6/16/2020- fixed the formatting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn why Alastor shouldn't ever be in a room with Eden...

In the meantime, Charlie had stormed up to the top floor of the hotel, ready to rip the perpetrator a new one. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this; in fact, the last guest he pulled this stunt on left the Hotel and swore to never return. Charlie had had enough of this nonsense.

She approached room 1313 and banged loudly on the door. Seconds later, a red-clad man, much taller than herself, answered the door. “Charlie,” he began, “I believe it is a bit rude to show up to someone’s place of residence unannounced.”

Charlie crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. “Alastor, we’ve had this conversation before. You already _know_ why I’m here.”

“I’m afraid not, darling!” Alastor chuckled.

“Seriously, Al? How many times am I going to have to tell you to stop scaring the living shit out of our new guests?”

“They aren’t living anymore, doll!”

Charlie had no response.

“I have to meet them somehow, don’t I?” Alastor laughed.

“Look. We’re dealing with someone who’s _way_ too vulnerable to leave this building alone. I don’t know if you want her to leave—”

“That is pure _nonsense_ , my dear. I would _love_ for her to stay!”

“—or if you’re just getting a thrill out of this, but—”

“Well, why don’t we just arrange for me to meet her _personally_?”

“Uh…”

Charlie bit her bottom lip, remembering what Vaggie had said earlier. “Gimme a second, Al.”

Charlie walked a few feet down the hall and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had to stop and think about how she was going to tell Vaggie what Alastor had just suggested to her. Finally, she typed in a message.

_11:39 AM_

_Heyyyyy Vaggie? We have a problem._

_11:39 AM_

_whats the problem??_

_11:39 AM_

_Well…Al kinda sorta wants to meet Eden today_

_11:40 AM_

_what?? TODAY??!_

_11:40 AM_

_What am I supposed to tell him? No?!_

_11:40 AM_

_YES_

_11:40 AM_

_Vaggie…I love you, but do you want me to die today?_

_11:40 AM_

  1. _but i also don’t want eden to die. idk._



_11:41 AM_

_Trust me on this. I’ll stay in the room and if it gets too spooky, I’ll make him leave._

_11:41 AM_

_im nervous about this…_

_11:41 AM_

_He seems to be in a good mood today so…_

_11:41 AM_

_I think it’ll be okay._

_11:41 AM_

_i trust you. but please stick to your word. if it gets scary then take him OUT. understand?_

_11:42 AM_

_Got it. Take Eden to the back lounge. Be down in a few._

_11:42 AM_

_Love you <3 _

_11:42 AM_

_ur nuts, char. te amo_ _♥_

Charlie pocketed her phone and returned to Alastor’s room. He had migrated to the back of his room and was staring out the window. “Hey Al?” Charlie called. Alastor turned around and approached the door again.

“Come with me.”

\--

Eden was secretly glad that Vaggie brought her to a more isolated place. She’d just met Niffty, who was _far_ too high-energy for her to handle. It felt like every few seconds, Niffty was in a completely different part of the room. She _never stopped_.

The back lounge was weirdly well-kept despite the state of the rest of the hotel. Eden glanced around the room. It felt _regal_ in many ways. It felt like someone was rubbing their wealth in her face. Eden had only known Charlie for less than twelve hours, yet she already knew that she wouldn’t rub her wealth in anyone’s face. In fact, she still didn’t fully understand how someone as kind as Charlie _or_ Vaggie could still be in Hell.

Vaggie looked over at Eden. “You okay?” she asked. Eden glanced at Vaggie out of the corners of her eyes, then nodded. Vaggie sighed. “I wish I could say that there’s nothing to be nervous about, but Alastor is… _a lot_. I mean, he’s more _obnoxious_ than anything but…”

Eden looked at Vaggie.

“In any case, I will _not_ let him hurt you. If he wants to hurt you, he has to go through me first.”

Eden’s lips curled into a _very_ slight smile, which faded when she realized that she was just seconds away from meeting the person responsible for freaking her out earlier. She grabbed a pillow and squeezed it, her attention focusing on the sound of shoes clicking on the tile floor with each step. Whoever this Alastor guy was, he really needed everyone to know when he was about to enter a room.

Then, Charlie appeared in the doorway along with the very man responsible for the shadow _thing_ that tried to attack her earlier. He was entirely in red, his coat had _definitely_ seen better days, and he had two short antlers atop his head. But the thing that freaked Eden out the most was _that smile._

 _That damn smile_.

It was _not_ a friendly one by any means, and his teeth were the same color as the mustard from the hotdog stand near her Nana’s bungalow. Normally, Eden liked that color... _except_ when it was on someone’s teeth. Eden wasn’t sure if she wanted to stay there and risk being killed a second time or if it was time to _hit the fucking road._

She froze. He was right in front of her and he was _looming_. He bent down, his face inches from hers. Eden was trembling at this point, and Vaggie had reached over to grab Eden’s hand, squeezing it every so often.

Then, he spoke. _Oh god, it talks_.

_And by God, will it never shut up._

“Well, hello there, my dear!” he bellowed, an old-timey radio filter disguising his true voice. “My name’s Alastor. Pleasure to be making your acquaintance! Might I say, my shadow was _thoroughly entertained_ by you earlier! Oh, ho, ho!”

Eden buried her face in Vaggie’s arm, refusing to look at anyone in the room.

“There is nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart! If I wanted to hurt you—”

“Al, we talked about this,” Charlie interrupted, annoyed.

Alastor cleared his throat. “Right. And what might your name be, darling?”

Eden peeked up, then sloppily spelled out her name with her left hand.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand your _silly_ hand gestures, dear.”

Vaggie rolled her eye. “Eden,” she groaned, “Her name’s Eden. And she’s using—"

“Eden! What a name! Dear, you appear to be missing something,” Alastor reached his fingers toward Eden’s mouth, but was stopped by Vaggie forcefully grabbing his wrist. “Do _not_ touch her,” she warned.

Alastor focused his attention on Vaggie. He put his face so close to hers that their noses were touching. “And it seems you’ve forgotten your smile today, too, dear,” he teased.

“Oooookay!” Charlie interrupted, grabbing Alastor’s other wrist and pulling him away from Vaggie and Eden, “I think that’s about all the time we have for today! Al, I think it’s time you started making lunch?”

Charlie and Alastor left the room. When Eden was sure that they were gone, she sat up and looked at Vaggie. “Ugh,” Vaggie groaned. “I _knew_ he wouldn’t be able to do this without being _too much_.”

Eden’s eyes shifted around the room suspiciously, then returned to Vaggie.

“You remind me a lot of me when I first got here, Eden. I…I’d rather not talk about it. But Hell toughens you up. Like, a lot. You _have_ to be strong down here. It’s not optional—and I need you to just ignore Alastor when he harasses you. He’s going to. Don’t let him get under your skin. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Eden whispered.

“And don’t feel like you have to talk to anyone. I won’t hesitate to punch anyone in this hotel. Well, except Charlie. I _can’t_.”

Eden chuckled.

But wait…

 _When he harasses me?_ Eden thought. _When?!_

Needless to say, things were going to get _really_ interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, I figured out formatting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden speaks!
> 
> Then, things get 2spooky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna put this here now.  
> I wanted to update this yesterday but couldn't finish the chapter because I burned my hand on the lawnmower while I was trying to put it away...not my brightest moment tbh. My hand's okay, it's a bit sore but I wasn't able to type yesterday without my hand being in a ton of pain. Definitely could've been a lot worse.
> 
> Also, I've realized that I'm using a crap ton of tropes in these first few chapters. This fic was inspired by a lot of different ones, but the main one (until a few chapters from now) is Dapper Dresser- this chapter was heavily inspired by it! idk how to link fics in chapter notes but seriously...if you like self-shipping and crying, PLEASE go read it. I promise, it's worth it.

Another week went by without incident.

Eden kept her distance from Alastor, usually leaving the room any time he entered. Sometimes Vaggie would send her on an errand just so that Alastor wouldn’t bother her at all.

Charlie, Vaggie, Angel, and Eden went shopping one of the days, mostly so that Eden had clothes that actually fit her. Her and Charlie were around the same size for clothing, however, Charlie was much taller than Eden, and her wearing pants and skirts of awkward lengths just wouldn’t cut it anymore. Not to mention, Eden was getting tired of rotating through the same few outfits already.

She felt bad for making Charlie spend so much money on her, even though Charlie told her to get whatever she wanted. Even with unlimited spending power, Eden ended up with a modestly-sized closet—enough outfits to last four weeks at the most, and nothing crazy formal. Not like she was planning to attend any social events, anyway.

A few days afterward, Charlie heard Eden speak for the first time.

And, of course, it had to be Eden whispering “Oh, shit!” to herself when she realized that she had forgotten something in her room. No one else heard it—Husk was around, but he wouldn’t have cared anyway.

But there was good news— Eden’s level of comfort around both Charlie and Vaggie had made her feel ready to speak to them. Well, _kind of._

So, Charlie made a plan.

One evening, the girls invited her to hang out with them after dinner. They wanted to get to know her more. They _had_ to. Here was a virtually powerless demon who, in the two weeks she’d spent at the Hotel, hadn’t spoken a word to anyone. They knew nothing about her besides her name and that she was scared of a lot of things. What was strange was that, even though Eden would sit near others in the hotel, she still didn’t speak. She was perfectly comfortable just observing what was going on. Of course, Vaggie knew that she could hear everything just fine—and, for the time being, they had a way to speak to each other.

But even then, Vaggie still knew nothing from Eden. Her signs were limited to one-word answers.

So, the plan was simple: maybe if Eden was alone with just Charlie and Vaggie, and nobody could hear her, perhaps she’d talk to them. After all, she was seldom less than a few feet away from either one of them at all times, save for when she was sleeping.

At 7 PM sharp, Eden quietly knocked on the door. Charlie answered, excited that her new friend came by. Eden looked a lot more relaxed than usual, which was already a good sign in Charlie’s eyes. Charlie invited her to come sit on the bed with her and Vaggie. Eden sat at the foot while the other two sat at the head, backs resting against pillows and approximately twenty-five stuffed animals. Eden reached for a pink bunny, looking to Charlie for permission. “Go ahead,” Charlie said cheerfully, “You can hold that one!”

Eden picked up the bunny and held it close to her body. _It’s so soft!_ She thought.

Charlie and Vaggie glanced at each other, expecting someone to start the conversation. Then, Charlie cleared her throat and spoke up. “So…I guess… we want to get to know you more. And I thought you might be more comfortable if it was just me and Vaggie and no one else.”

Eden glanced around the room to make sure nobody else was there. “Yeah,” she whispered, “I-I am.”

Charlie’s face lit up. “Oh. My. Gosh. Your voice is _so cute_ ,” she cried.

Eden’s face flushed a bright red, and she looked down at the bunny she was clutching, letting her long hair cover most of her face She knew her voice was _tiny_ , sometimes getting her mistaken for a child, but hearing Charlie say this hurt her more deeply than it should have.

“Oh,” Charlie said softly, “I’m sorry. Did I upset you?”

“No,” Eden whispered.

“So, Eden,” Vaggie began. Eden peeked up at her without moving her head from its position. “I guess…what brought you here?”

Eden adjusted her body, freeing the plush bunny from her grip. She signed to Vaggie, “To the Hotel?”

“Yeah,” Vaggie replied, signing back. “Or to Hell.”

“I don’t want to talk about why I’m in Hell,” Eden signed in response. “I’m at the Hotel because I needed somewhere to stay.”

As Vaggie and Eden talked, Charlie watched their hands with mixed delight and confusion. Finally, when they stopped, she interrupted, “What are you doing with your hands? Eden isn’t talking…and she’s doing something with her hands…are you reading her mind?!”

“No!” Vaggie giggled. “Some humans can’t hear. So we came up with a way for them to talk to other people using hand gestures and facial expressions.”

“So…you mean to tell me that Eden can’t hear—”

“No! She can hear. Sometimes, people who are afraid to talk or where talking is really hard for them use it, too. And that’s Eden.”

“That’s…really cool!” Charlie cried. “Humans are weird. But cool. But…yeah. Continue?”

“That’s it.”

Eden looked around again. She signed to Vaggie, “What else do you want to ask me?”

“Hmmm…” Vaggie thought. She looked at Charlie. “Char?”

“Ooh!” Charlie began. “What do you like to do?”

“Dance,” Eden whispered. “And paint.”

“Ooh, ooh! What kind of dancing do you like to do?”

“Ballet.”

“Oh my gosh! You’re gonna fit right in with us! Can you sing, too?!”

Eden grimaced. “I’m scared to,” she signed to Vaggie.

“She says she’s afraid to.”

“Oh,” Charlie’s face fell. “Well…maybe we can help you be…not so afraid, I guess!”

Eden bit her bottom lip. “I dunno…” she sighed.

“With time, I guess.”

Eden shrugged. She would dance in front of anyone there—except for Alastor—but she’d never, _ever_ sing in front of anyone— _including_ Alastor.

The silence was awkward for a few minutes as the three girls waited for someone to break it. “So…” Charlie finally spoke up, “I take it you’re pretty shy then?”

“Yeah,” Eden whispered. Then, to Vaggie, she signed, “I just have to get comfortable around all of you, then I’ll talk.”

“She said that she’ll talk when she feels comfortable around everyone,” Vaggie said to Charlie. “Do you feel comfortable around us?” Vaggie asked Eden.

“Almost,” Eden whispered.

Almost was better progress than nothing at all.

\--

It goes without saying that nobody can ever be _truly_ alone in the Hotel.

_Especially_ when one of the guests has the ability to teleport himself and send his own shadow to terrorize you without warning.

Eden had yet to learn this, though. She felt _truly_ safe in her room. Besides the incident on her first full day at the Hotel, her room was her safe haven. Nobody would ever see her inside, and she was free to talk and cry and sleep without ever being disturbed. It was true _paradise_ to her.

Until it wasn’t.

Although Eden slept well most nights, there were times when she would wake up suddenly, without an explanation. She hadn’t had a nightmare, and nothing had fallen in her room. The weather had stayed calm, too. She never understood what was startling her awake and keeping her heart rate up. Even after examining her room thoroughly, _nothing_ was there.

This was Hell, though. Surely there’d be plenty of things to go _bump_ in the night, right?

Of course, the _thing_ that lurked within the Hotel walls was someone who liked to attack at inopportune and very unpredictable times. Most of the time, it wasn’t even _himself_ that attacked. For a while, Eden pinned the Radio Demon as being _cowardly_. If he wanted to scare her so badly, then why didn’t he just come attack her himself?

Oh, but that’s not what a _gentleman_ does, Eden decided. She could even hear him _saying_ that, the smug bastard. Yet, she also knew that Alastor could _smell_ fear, both literally and figuratively. And, as much as she tried to hide it, it was useless. She was afraid of him. He wanted _something_ from her, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. The few times that he’d actually seen her, he would make a point of scaring her shitless every time if she didn’t know he was there. It was a game to him.

Everything was a game to him.

And, after Eden had spent time with Charlie and Vaggie, she went to bed with an awful feeling. She felt _sick_. Her brain was telling her to get out of there _now_ , but she didn’t want to bother her friends down the hall. Eventually, though, she fell asleep—deep, deep sleep, where her mind was so quiet you would think that she had been erased and left her body behind.

That is, until something jolted her awake.

The air in Eden’s room felt _heavy_ , and she knew that she wasn’t alone. She scanned the darkness for several moments looking for the source of the heaviness. Her heart pounded—there was no going back to sleep at this point. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight.

Then, she saw those two glowing red eyes and mouth appear, seemingly floating in the darkness.

“What do you want?” she cried. “Please don’t hurt me. _Please_.”

It cocked its head and its face became more sinister. Then, Eden felt as if someone was sitting on her chest, even though the _thing_ hadn’t moved from its place on the foot of her bed. She tried to scream, but felt a severed hand cover her mouth and silence her, another wrapping around her throat and choking her.

She thought this was the end. She became lightheaded as her airflow was cut off.

Then, out of nowhere, the entity disappeared and the room returned to normal. Eden could move. She cautiously stood up and padded to the other side of her room and turned off the light. Nobody was there, but there was no way she was going back to sleep. However, she had _nothing_ to do at the moment. Except…

 _Her phone_.

It was still on her desk in the same spot she’d left it when she first arrived at the Hotel. She opened it up and saw that _damn_ face again. Well, hers and that guy—she couldn’t remember who he was. Her passcode still worked, too. However…

 _No service_. She couldn’t call her mom, or text Adam something funny.

Except, she did have several new texts. She returned to her bed and opened it. It was from her younger brother.

_May 3 rd, 2019 at 4:43 PM_

_Eden_

_Please answer me_

_Please tell me you’re okay_

_We miss you_

_We love you_

_Please tell me this is a dream_

“Adam…” she cried. Her little brother. He was such a happy kid, and knowing his sister was gone had probably left him so depressed.

She had left without a word.

And the poor kid didn’t even know what _awful_ thing his big sister—the person he looked up to—had done.

Eden sighed, stopping herself from crying, then opened her photos. Her entire life—at least, from the last two years, in photographs. All of her friends, her family, the places she loved to visit…her puppy, the one she was supposed to adopt two weeks after she died…

It was all too much to bear.

Eden cried for _hours_ , until much after the sun came up. She needed someone, but she still didn’t want to wake Charlie or Vaggie up.

Then, the door opened and the smell of cinnamon French toast wafted into the room, followed by a familiar sweet voice.

“Eden?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden's past is coming back to haunt her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been super slow to update, sorry! Writer's block is a terrible, terrible thing.
> 
> Two-chapter update because both are pretty short, but the chapters will begin to get longer pretty soon.

The last person Eden wanted to catch her crying was Charlie.

And, of course, Charlie had caught her in absolute _hysterics_.

Eden had done a fairly decent job of keeping her composure so far. She had cried a few times, but nowhere near this much or this hard. At first, it felt like she was releasing all of the pent-up emotions she’d been holding back for the last three weeks. Then, it became just _painful._ Yet, she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t remember the last time she cried this hard or this much. The last several hours had hurt her tremendously.

Charlie wasted no time putting Eden’s breakfast down on the desk and coming over to comfort her. Eden glanced up, soaked face and puffy eyes. Her heart dropped, and she had to wonder if she’d done something to upset her. Shaking off the feeling, though, she decided to ask. “What happened?”

“Him,” Eden whimpered, lying about what she was really upset about.

“Alastor?”

Eden nodded in response.

“How long ago? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”

“Last night. I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay. Can I stay with you while you eat?”

“Yeah.”

Eden wandered over to the desk and sat down to eat. As she ate, Charlie noticed Eden’s phone on the bed next to her. “How’d you get a phone?” she asked. Eden almost spat out her waffle, knowing that this was going to take _far_ more than a word or two to explain.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

Charlie examined the device thoroughly, realizing that this phone didn’t look like any phone she’d ever seen in Hell. Well, almost. It was similar to what Charlie was used to, but also…not? Charlie stared at it with utter confusion, but knew that Eden wasn’t going to tell her whether or not she could look at it. She didn’t even know if she wanted to see what was on it—from what she knew, humans were horrifying creatures, and Earth was in bad shape.

She wasn’t willing to take that plunge just yet.

Eden finished her breakfast quickly, although Charlie could tell that Eden was barely awake at this point. “Hey,” Charlie said, approaching Eden and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I can tell you didn’t sleep much last night. Why don’t you go take a nap in my room? It’s probably much safer than this room right now.”

“Okay.”

Charlie brought Eden to her room and unmade her bed so that Eden could sleep there. “If I or Vaggie need to come in here, we’ll be quiet, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Eden curled up in a ball and sleep hit her almost instantly.

\--

_Eden awoke in her childhood bedroom._

_What?!_

_She sat up and looked around. She felt much smaller than an adult…in fact, her room was the way she remembered it looking when she was about 10 years old. It was pink, frilly, and full of soft things. Her closet consisted of only dresses and skirts—and had been left wide open. The sky was blue—it was blue! Eden had missed the blue sky._

_She realized that she was already dressed. So, she left her room and…was in a classroom. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. That is, until she noticed that there wasn’t an open seat for her, and that everyone was facing away from her._

_What had she done?! Why was everyone acting this way? Even the teacher ignored her, despite her trying to get her attention. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong._

_Then, as if on cue, the entire class turned around, their faces mangled and distorted, each one with a pair of severed hands around their necks. In a horrifying voice, they all yelled in unison:_

**_WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID._ **

**_WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID._ **

**_WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID._ **

_Eden tried to run, but was stuck in one place. The students and the teacher slowly approached her. Her bedroom door was floating further away and she was running into darkness. The tiles fell out, but the mob grew closer. Then, they pounced, smothering Eden in heat and darkness._

\--

Eden shot straight up in a sweat, realizing that she wasn’t alone. Fortunately, this time it was a welcomed sight—Vaggie on the end of the bed, who had been trying to wake her up from her nightmare, and Charlie, who had brought a glass of water knowing that it would be much needed when Eden finally woke up. She asked no questions—she simply sat and hyperventilated, trying to recall where she was.

For some reason, Hell felt a lot safer than Earth did in that moment. Or at least, Charlie and Vaggie’s room felt safer. It was painted light pink and the lighting was far brighter than the rest of the hotel. It was both cheerful and calming, which Eden was thankful to be able to see in that moment.

Charlie placed a hand on Eden’s shoulder and handed her the glass of water. “Nightmares are pretty common here,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“I-I think so,” Eden choked between gulps of water.

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Vaggie.

“No.”

In any other circumstance, Vaggie would’ve been much more cross with someone for refusing to talk. However, Eden was different, and she couldn’t fully place her finger on it. She almost lashed out; she really did. But something stopped her, and it wasn’t apparent to anyone in the room. Even Eden wouldn’t know what it was. All she knew was that she felt _something_ , and it was as if an invisible shield stopped something from happening.

Eden got up to rinse her face with cool water; she had been sweating profusely from her nightmare. It was then that both Charlie and Vaggie noticed something odd about Eden’s hair.

“Uh, Eden?” Charlie asked. “Did you do something to your hair?”

“No?” Eden turned around, visibly confused. She went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. At first, her hair looked normal. Then, she lifted it up. The ends were beginning to turn white. She gasped, startled by this new development. Her hair also felt like it had gotten longer. Charlie appeared behind her. “Don’t worry,” Charlie said reassuringly, “Stuff like this is normal. It’s just a small change.”

Eden breathed a sigh of relief. She returned to the bed and flopped onto the mattress with her legs dangling off the edge. She looked at the ceiling.

“So, Eden,” Vaggie said, approaching her again. “While you were asleep, I may…may or may not have confronted Alastor about his stupid games.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaggie is sick of Alastor's shit and becomes extremely, earth-shatteringly, unreasonably fuck-ass mad at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a meme that mildly inspired this chapter. That's it.

While Eden was asleep in her and Charlie’s room, Vaggie had confronted Alastor about his treatment of Eden. Ever since she had arrived, it was like he’d been stalking her. It made Vaggie sick to her stomach, knowing that Eden was the easiest target for Alastor since she was so vulnerable. Since she arrived, Vaggie and Charlie had been taking turns running errands for the hotel, both of them feeling that no one else was competent enough to make sure Eden was safe if her and Charlie had left.

Vaggie had her aggression and protectiveness and Charlie had insane amounts of authority and power. Vaggie was physically weaker, but not afraid to threaten anyone who came after those she cared about. She’d put her existence at risk if she had to. Charlie, on the other hand, had infinite amounts of power, and could destroy everything in her path if she chose to. However, she rarely ever used her powers, preferring to use her voice and authority to handle tricky situations. Vaggie had only ever seen Charlie in her full demon form once—it was _horrifying_ , and a last resort for Charlie.

On this day, Vaggie asserted her own dominance and finally stood up to Alastor. Deep down inside, she was afraid of what he could do—she wasn’t afraid of _him_ , necessarily, but she was afraid of what abilities he harnessed. Charlie warned her not to confront Alastor, but she had had enough of his shit. He never took her seriously, but she figured she needed to assert herself more.

And that’s exactly what she did.

He was conveniently sitting at the bar bothering Husk when she went looking for him. Husk noticed her first and immediately knew that something was about to go down. Vaggie looked like she was looking for a fight, and she would absolutely throw hands if she needed to.

Vaggie stormed into the room and pointed at Alastor. “ ** _You_.**” she hissed, fuming. She approached the Radio demon and yanked him down to her level by the lapels of his jacket. “We need to talk.”

Alastor yanked Vaggie’s hands off of his jacket and dusted himself off. “Not right now, dear. I’m in the middle of conversating with my dear Husker!”

“ **No** ,” Vaggie growled. “We need to talk _now_.”

Alastor rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He got up and followed Vaggie to the back lounge. Vaggie was not afraid to get in Alastor’s face at all.

“You. Have GOT. To stop,” Vaggie spat.

“Stop what, dear? I don’t believe I have done anything that Charlie has asked me not to do.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Vaggie crossed her arms, unamused by Alastor’s feigned ignorance to the situation. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

“Doing what, dear?”

“ **Alastor**.”

“Please, do explain what it is I’m doing wrong.”

Vaggie groaned, unamused by Alastor pretending to have no idea of what she was talking about. She emphatically threw her hands up. “Sending your shadows to Eden’s room just to fuck with her?!”

“Ah, it’s just a game.”

“Yeah, a game that’s causing Eden to lose sleep!”

“What’s the harm in playing a little innocent prank?”

“Innocent? **_Innocent?!_** You think that causing someone to have debilitating panic attacks and keeping them awake is **_innocent?!_** ”

“Most people generally feel fear when I do this. Nothing new to me.”

“I wouldn’t call someone being completely unable to breathe because they’re so scared _normal_ , Alastor.”

“Well, not my fault. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Alastor turned to leave, “I was in the middle of a conversation, and I’d like to finish.”

“Nope!” Vaggie grabbed the tails of Alastor’s coat and yanked him back. “You have a better explanation than _that_ in that thick head of yours, and I’m not gonna let you leave until you explain _what the actual fuck you want with Eden_.”

“Ah, Vagatha, my dear. Well…I suppose I’ll just leave it at _curiosity_.”

“About…?”

“The quietest ones often have the most to say. And they also make the tastiest—”

“Abso- ** _fucking_ -**loutely _not_!”

“What’s the matter, my dear?”

“How many times do I need to tell you that _the guests here aren’t meals for you_?!”

“’twas only a joke! No. I only consume of the flesh of those who deserve it.”

“Ugh.”

“In any case, I only seek out dear Eden because she won’t come to me.”

“Have you ever considered that maybe…just _maybe_ … your approach to talking to her is too overwhelming?”

“Nonsense.”

“Listen. Al. All I’m asking is that you let Eden come to you when _she’s_ ready to. And honestly…I don’t think she’s ever going to talk to you. Ever. So **_cut it out_**.”

“Oh well. That’s her loss, I suppose. Anyway, I must be getting on my way now.”

Alastor snapped his fingers and teleported elsewhere. Vaggie was seething with rage. No matter what she did, even in this case when she really, _really_ tried to assert herself to Alastor, he brushed her off as someone inferior to himself. His response to her request seriously worried her. Eden was fair game now, and she knew he was about to up the ante even more. Eden could get _seriously_ hurt, and Vaggie wasn’t willing to take any more chances with him.

She also knew that Charlie wasn’t going to let him off easy with this one, either. Neither of them knew why Eden was in Hell. The fact that she was _so silent_ was an obvious sign that she had royally fucked up before her death despite not really having done anything sinful previously. That, and Eden hadn’t had a demon transformation yet. At this point, she was pretty much defenseless. Alastor had the ability to completely mess her up if he so chose to.

And, right now, it was becoming more likely that Eden might not exist for much longer.

Charlie and Vaggie had been invited to visit the Magne palace for a family reunion very soon, and Vaggie was getting closer to staying back, if only to keep Eden safe. As much as she enjoyed the family’s lavish gatherings, this decision was a matter of keeping one of the guests out of harm’s way.

Vaggie hated upsetting Charlie, but she hoped she’d be understanding.

In the meantime, Vaggie had all but given up on trying to reprimand Alastor for what he’d bee doing. It was hopeless. He wasn’t going to change. But the good news was that she had a pretty funny story to tell Eden when she woke up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden speaks more! 
> 
> And, Charlie has a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update! I'm trying to catch up rn. Hoping to have the next chapter up by Thursday, and get back on schedule. I'm regaining my sea legs in terms of writing fics and adding more details.

Vaggie’s confrontation with Alastor helped it set in for Eden that she could trust her new friends well. When she heard what had happened, it solidified that Eden was able to speak to Vaggie, fully and without restricting herself. To be fair, Eden’s normal speaking voice wasn’t much louder than a whisper—it was soft and delicate, and almost shaky at times. Vaggie was somewhat amused by the way that Eden pronounced certain words, especially when she was ranting. Her accent wasn’t terribly thick, but it got thicker when she was frustrated.

Charlie was the next to hear Eden speak, and was almost shocked by how much of a chatterbox she could be at times. Eden had a _lot_ to say despite how she presented herself, and had plenty of interesting stories that had been hiding behind the walls she’d put up. Charlie had come to learn that Eden had a laundry list of diagnoses that she’d faintly heard of, but the one thing Eden _still_ refused to talk about was how she died and why she was in Hell.

This scared Charlie beyond belief.

Charlie had always been told that mortal souls as sweet and soft as Eden tended to have the most violent demon forms. Eden hadn’t had her first big transformation yet—in fact, she barely even knew what species she was. Like Vaggie, Eden looked incredibly _normal_ , whatever that meant. But Eden was far more even-tempered compared to Vaggie. If she did cry, she usually did so in private, and nobody really bothered her.

As for the others, very little progress had actually been made. However, as per suggestion, Charlie had been trying to get Eden to talk to Angel next. Eden wasn’t afraid of Angel at all—in fact, she often silently giggled at some of what he said, though he never noticed. He’d been leaving her alone since he met her, figuring she’d just come to him when she decided to do so. Besides, he realized quickly that he had to watch what he said around her because of how easily she became upset.

Still, in the past couple of days, Eden had begun _quietly_ saying “Hi” to Angel when she saw him. It was so quiet that, in fact, Angel thought he was hallucinating and had _actually cut down on his drug use_ because it was scaring him. Not much, but it was something. Angel didn’t really _dislike_ Eden. He was just overly cautious around her, knowing that not only might he upset her, but he’d also have to face Vaggie if he did so.

In an odd turn of events, Niffty became the third soul to have heard Eden’s speaking voice. Eden had been in an odd mood one morning, and Niffty came to clean up. For whatever reason, Eden opened up to her, ranting about nothing in particular. It didn’t faze Niffty all that much, but she did listen while she worked.

The next day was much the same, and it became routine for Niffty to come to Eden’s room at 10 AM sharp ready to listen to whatever Eden had to complain about on that particular day. It was through these few interactions that Eden learned that Niffty was quite the comedian, often making her laugh. Niffty had a talent for making others feel better through humor, even though her humor could be crude at times.

Husk was…well, Husk. The two of them had nonverbally decided to just coexist with each other. He typically didn’t speak to Eden, though he had taken on a role he didn’t expect to do. Whenever Alastor would come in and start making Eden uncomfortable, he would play a role in getting him to leave by absorbing her in some sort of a conversation—she would slip him a piece of paper telling him that she was uncomfortable, then he’d respond by taking it as some kind of a drink order—usually a strawberry milkshake, which usually made Alastor leave the room immediately.

Alastor _hated_ strawberry milkshakes. His sense of smell was _very_ strong, and the smell made him nauseous. Here was a man that could consume the flesh of demons and had seen the goriest of the gore—the most disgusting parts of anyone, the parts that no one should ever have to see, yet the smell and even the _sight_ of a strawberry milkshake made his stomach churn. He’d have no choice but to leave the room.

So Eden continued to ask Husk to make them whenever Alastor was around. They _were_ her favorite, anyway, and Husk made the most bomb-ass milkshakes Eden had ever tasted. She couldn’t get enough of them. Of course, she was careful not to have too many in one day, but they were a nice little treat—and the best way to get rid of a Radio Demon.

Mostly, though, Eden spent much of her time either in her room or doing odd jobs around the Hotel that didn’t involve her socializing with anyone. In the evenings, she’d sometimes go to Charlie and Vaggie’s room to hang out with them. One rainy night, when Vaggie was out running some errands for the hotel with Angel, Charlie came to Eden’s room for a change. Eden told Charlie more stories about her life on Earth and attempted to explain as much as she could without being able to show her.

Then she remembered. _Her damn Earth phone was still almost on full battery_.

“Why don’t I just show you?” Eden offered. Charlie’s heart skipped a beat at Eden’s offer—after so many years, she’d get to see what Earth _really_ looked like. She brought her phone over and started with her lock screen. She pointed to herself—the girl, a fair-skinned girl with a generous amount of freckles sprinkling her face. Big, mossy-green eyes. Short, wavy light brown hair that shone in the sunlight.

“That’s you?!” Charlie exclaimed. She’d only ever seen a real, live human once, and it was completely accidental. “You were…really pretty.”

“Thanks?”

“And who is that next to you?” Charlie asked, pointing to the boy next to Eden.

“Ah, haha,” Eden laughed nervously, “I actually don’t know. Is that…is that normal?”

“You remember a lot more than most new demons do, actually. But it’s pretty normal to forget parts of your life. Although…if I were to guess, I’d say that he was your boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend…I can’t remember his name, though.”

Eden sighed, then put in her passcode. Her home screen appeared with everything still exactly as it had been before she died. She opened her photos and all of her memories from the past few years appeared once again. “So,” Eden sighed, “I’m from a place called Rhode Island. I grew up right by the ocean. Are there oceans in Hell?”

“Yeah,” Charlie laughed, “But you do _not_ want to go near one unless you want to drown.”

“Well, oceans on Earth can be safe, _sometimes_.” Eden opened up a recent picture, one where the sun was setting and she was on the beach with her brother. “We went swimming this day. Me and my little brother…” Eden’s face fell.

“He must miss you.”

Eden scrolled through pictures silently, trying to find another one. “This one’s a lighthouse,” Eden said, stopping at a picture of a red and white lighthouse she faintly remembered seeing near her grandparents’ bungalow. “They don’t serve much of a purpose now, but this one’s really cool.”

“Oh, we have those here! Except they’re usually burnt out. I remember there was a shipwreck once, and my dad just kinda… _brushed it off_ as if it was no big deal. But, that’s my dad for ya.”

“He sounds…interesting.”

Eden continued to scroll, then stopped again. “Oh! This one’s cool. So, we had a _big_ storm a few weeks before I died, and then the storm crossed over the ocean and left behind two rainbows.”

“Wait.”

“What’s wrong?”

“ _That’s_ what a rainbow looks like?!”

“Yes. I’ve always liked rainbows for…well, for one, the way they’re made is _so cool_. When the sun reflects off of the raindrops it makes all of these colors and it’s cool. Actually, rainbows don’t actually end. They’re _technically_ a full circle. And there’s also a lot of colors in one, but they’re all blended together. But I also like them because they’re always a sign that the storm is over and sunny days are coming again.”

Charlie’s eyes welled up with tears. “I always thought… but…”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know what I’m saying. I…I didn’t realize that…rainbows were _that_ beautiful.”

“They are. And they don’t always happen, which makes them really satisfying to see.”

Eden scrolled more, then stopped. “Ooh! I should show you my paintings.”

“You paint?”

“Yes. So, you know how I was _super_ quiet at first? Well. I explained that to you. But I took up painting as a means of communicating my thoughts to others—well, one way of doing so, anyway. That, and photography. So this one,” Eden scrolled to a painting she’d done of a cat napping on a window sill, “I was at a high point in my life, and I always thought about how when I felt good, I felt like this cat. Just chilling out and soaking up the sun and not really caring about what was going on around me.”

“Oh, so cute!”

“He was. The cat was Felix, my aunt’s odd-eyed tabby. He was _so_ lazy, super fat. I loved that about him, though we did worry about him a lot. Somehow, that chonker outlived me.”

Eden scrolled through a few more paintings. “This one’s a broken bottle. I had just been through a bad breakup and I drank _so_ much Moscato that week.”

“Oh yeah, I know _that_ feels,” Charlie bit her bottom lip, recalling her ex.

The next picture wasn’t a painting at all—rather, it was Eden, mid-jump during a performance. She was wearing a scarlet tutu. The top was decorated ornately with feathers and jewels. Her makeup matched the tutu in a way—dramatic, bright red, and intricate. She also wore an intricate headpiece on her head. “This was one of my last ballet performances,” Eden sighed. “I was the Firebird in a production of that show. The story is like, a guy who could live forever but he needs to obtain this magical egg, and while he’s trying to find it, he meets the Firebird and spares her life instead of killing her. It’s…I have a video on here somewhere. Maybe I’ll show you later on.”

“I miss ballet a lot. It was my other way of communicating myself without words.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn!” Charlie’s face lit up. “I only know a _little_ bit. Maybe you can teach me!”

“I could do that!” Eden’s face lit up. “But…I don’t know where I could do that.”

“I think I might have an idea.”

\--

Charlie’s plan for Eden was a bit complicated, but she swore it’d be exactly the thing Eden needed. Since most of the hotel was unoccupied, there were plenty of open rooms. Surely it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to pick a random floor and two random rooms to use for this…

Noting how Eden was losing her safe haven in her room due to Alastor’s continued shenanigans, and noting how much Eden loved art and dancing, she decided that Eden needed a different space to retreat to when she needed to hide from others. She needed something to _do._ Two rooms would be combined to make one—half would be an art studio, and the other half would be a dance studio. Charlie figured Eden could paint to calm herself down in there, but she could also recruit her and her artistic talent to create some more appealing flyers to get guests to come to the Hotel.

It was perfect.

She told Vaggie that night about the plan and for once, Vaggie didn’t think it was all that bad of an idea. “As long as Alastor can’t find her. I can’t be her body guard forever, you know?”

“I know, Vaggie. I…I have no idea if he’ll find this room, but if no one else knows about it, it’ll be a _lot_ harder for him to find.”

“So…when are we starting this, then?”

“Tomorrow. I’m tired.” Charlie slid further under the covers, pulling Vaggie in close and kissing her on the cheek. “Good night.”

“Night, hun.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out you can find family in the most unexpected of places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be two chapters, but the bit at the end was WAY too short to be a chapter on its own. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

\--

It didn’t take much to get Eden to come around to Angel Dust.

Of anyone in the Hotel, he was going to be the next soul she tried to warm up to. She had been testing the waters, greeting him quietly whenever she saw him. She would even sit next to him if he was sitting at the bar, though he never really acknowledged her being there. This was just a warmup, though.

What happened on one day, though, threw her for a loop. She wasn’t prepared to end up forcing herself to go from silence to speaking full sentences to someone she still wasn’t sure about. She _definitely_ wasn’t prepared for Angel to be peeking over her shoulder when it happened.

But it happened, and it turned out not to be so bad.

Eden had been looking through her photos again, this time, at the bar where it could be seen. Angel was hitting on Husk for the thirtieth time that day, to no success. He sighed, then peeked down at Eden’s phone, secretly hoping he’d discover her hidden stash of lewd photographs she’d been sending to some boytoy she would sneak out to meet every night.

Instead, he was met with a familiar sight.

“Hey, wait,” he said. “Go back to that picture.”

Eden scrolled back a few pictures until Angel spotted the one. It was an old black and white photograph of a family—a mother and father, three sons, and a daughter. The daughter and youngest son looked to be around the same age.

“Where did you find this?” Angel asked Eden.

Eden froze, her eyes widened. There was no way to explain this to Angel without speaking to him. It was too many words to write down, and Angel didn’t understand sign language.

She sighed, finding her bravery, yet in disbelief that she was going to do what she was about to do. Her voice cracked as she spoke.

“They’re my grandpa’s family.”

Eden pointed to each person as she named them. “There’s my great-grandparents, who came over here from Italy. Then, there’s my grandpa Victor, and next to him is my uncle Arturo. The two little ones in front—the twins, were my Uncle Anthony and Aunt Molly.”

“Did you know any of them?”

Eden sighed. “Only my grandpa Victor. Everyone else probably died before I was born. They weren’t great people from what I was told. Victor got away. My mom never really talked about them, and I never found out why.”

“Kid, can I let you in on a little secret?”

“What?”

“That little boy in the front? That’s me.”

No.

Fucking.

Way.

“That’s you?!” Eden was floored. Of all of the souls she could meet in Hell, and she met her own great-uncle Anthony.

“Sure is, toots. And I’ll let you in on something—Victor left on his own accord because he decided that the mafia life wasn’t for him. Went against his morals or some shit. Good on him, though, I guess he cleaned up his life and got himself a one-way ticket to see God himself. The rest of us weren’t so lucky.”

“Well…”

“Kid, I’m almost certain you were sent here by association alone!” Angel chuckled. “But…I had a feeling you might be kin. You know how I knew that?”

“How?”

“You ain’t no spider, but you have the same eye thing as me.”

“Eye thing? Like…the weird black sclera thing?”

“Sure, whatever that means. But,” Angel’s eyes became all cutesy-like, “I have a _wittle baby niece!_ ” He reached down and pinched Eden’s cheeks. Eden was not amused.

“Oh, stop. I’m not _that_ much younger than you.”

“Technically, you’re a good 90 years younger. But if we’re going off the ages we _died_ at…”

“24?”

“35. There.”

Eden silently glanced around the room, hoping she hadn’t been stalked. Not only did Angel hear her speak, but Husk did, too. Still, Husk probably didn’t pay much attention to Eden speaking. He had been polishing glasses the entire time.

“So…do I still call you Angel, then?”

“Listen, kid. If it gets out that I’m your uncle…I…d’aww, I don’t have a reason to hurt you. But please, **_don’t_.**”

“Whatever you say, Angel.”

\--

Creating Eden’s safe haven had been going quite well, though the process was slow. Charlie and Vaggie had opted to do it themselves rather than hire a contractor to do it—it was a much safer option, anyway. The contractors in Pentagram City didn’t know what they were doing. At the rate the two girls were going, the room would be ready in a few days. Charlie had even expedited shipping all of the little extras that would go in the room. All of the painting supplies, the canvases, sketchbooks, tutus, and the pointe shoes.

Charlie couldn’t wait for Eden to see what she and Vaggie had done for her. Hell wasn’t a safe place for anyone, and Eden was going to be impossible to redeem if nobody knew what her sin was in the first place. At this point, everyone had silently come to the agreement that Eden had been mistakenly sent to Hell while another soul who should’ve been sent instead went to Heaven. That had only ever happened a few times, but it was still possible.

Then again, parts of Eden’s demeanor still made it entirely possible that she’d sinned. She hadn’t lived her whole life as a sinner like many had, but she certainly had to have done _something_. And that’s why Vaggie saw herself in Eden—fighting for survival, being cautious around others, being anxious in general. Eden seemed numb to the reality that she was in Hell, though. When she was quiet, it seemed as though she was in her own head, completely tuning out everything else.

Did she even realize she was damned to eternal Hellfire?

Perhaps Eden did realize it, but was in so much shock that she wasn’t registering any of it. That wasn’t uncommon; Charlie had met souls like that before, but not ones like Eden. The fact that Eden wouldn’t even disclose why she was in Hell didn’t help, either. Charlie worried about her often. She recently learned that Eden was prone to panic attacks, ones where she would freeze completely and be unable to respond or move.

This made her an easier target for Alastor.

Charlie was, admittedly, nervous to stand up to Alastor should he ever do something to harm anyone. Her powers were unlimited, sure, but they were something she reserved for very rare circumstances. She and Vaggie both agreed that they’d have absolutely no problem kicking the shit out of Alastor if he ever laid a hand on Eden, but everyone was now at risk should Alastor ever go on a rampage.

And that’s why the girls were getting a move on with this safe haven.

There was no guarantee that Alastor wouldn’t eventually find it. However, if only them and Eden knew of its existence, it’d be less likely he’d find it quickly.

That was another thing that puzzled the girls—why was Alastor going after Eden so much? Even when Vaggie asked him about it, she didn’t get a good enough answer. Every day, she regretted telling Alastor that Eden would probably never speak to him. This probably made him hunt her down even more.

Vaggie never told Charlie that she’d said that.

And, frankly, it would be better for her not to mention it.

\--

“Well, I think that’s it!” Charlie said. A few days had gone by and the room was now finished, full of supplies, and completely sound-proofed. Eden could finally come up and visit her safe haven and nobody would ever bother her.

Charlie had even been thinking about having Eden make more aesthetically pleasing posters for the hotel. And, now she could do it in peace.

\--

At long last, the big reveal came. Eden had noticed that Charlie and Vaggie hadn’t been around as much lately. She wondered what they might’ve been up to since they had been so scarce. So, when they randomly came into the lobby one afternoon when Eden was quietly talking to Angel about her life, her face filled with a mix of confusion and excitement. Angel was quite peeved that his conversation had been interrupted like that, but it was okay. He had a drunk cat at the bar to flirt with, anyway.

Vaggie covered Eden’s eyes as they approached the room. Eden’s heart began to pound. Her mind immediately jumped to the very real possibility that her friends were about to push her off of the roof of the hotel.

At this point, she’d accept it—it’d be an honor for the Princess of Hell herself to murder her.

They brought her into a room, and Eden was really hoping that she wasn’t about to be locked in a closet with her worst enemy. That is, until Vaggie removed her hands from Eden’s eyes and told her that she could look.

Eden’s face lit up with joy. So _this_ was where the two girls had been for the past week. “This is all for me?!”

“All yours, Eden!” Charlie replied cheerfully. Eden explored the room and all of her new goodies. “So, what do you think?”

“I _love it_!” Eden cried.

Charlie and Vaggie had really gone all out with this project. Eden now had access to canvases of every size and shape. Watercolor paper, paints in every color imaginable, an easel, and a desk. On the desk was a rich, deep red velvet pencil pouch with Eden’s first initial embroidered on the front, and a leather-bound sketchbook with Eden’s name embossed on the front in gold. Most importantly, Charlie had even gifted Eden a drawing tablet.

“Am I actually in Hell?” Eden asked rhetorically.

“If you’re going to be stuck here indefinitely, might as well make it _somewhat_ comfortable,” Charlie laughed. “You’re my family now, so you get the Magne Family treatment.”

Charlie considered Eden family.

_Charlie. Considered Eden. Family._

Eden explored the dance studio, which wasn’t a room on its own—rather, the room was divided in half and the studio itself was open. _They’d even bought her new pointe shoes_.

“Oh my stars. This is amazing.”

Charlie and Vaggie approached Eden and Vaggie put a hand on Eden’s shoulder. “It’s all yours. No one can bother you here.”

“Not even Alastor?”

“Not even Alastor.”

Eden spent the rest of the day, alone, painting and dancing. She never once worried about Alastor interrupting her peace. She even played around with her new tablet and created a flyer for the hotel that could be used to make the Hotel seem more attractive to those loathsome sinners that secretly ached for a chance at redemption.

Eden wondered if she, herself, was worthy of redemption. As kind as she had been, only she knew what she had really done.

It only took one time.

She was guilty underneath it all. She felt remorse. But it was too late. Despite Charlie’s kindness and gifts, Eden still deserved her punishment. Regardless of how she was being treated by everyone, she had sinned. She knew that being redeemed would be impossible if she didn’t speak up soon.

But she couldn’t.

Eden was becoming complacent about being in Hell. She’d made a home at the Hotel, even though her home was constantly being invaded by a certain pompous, cheesy talk-show shitlord on a regular basis. Technically, she was locked up and not allowed to leave without someone else, but she didn’t feel imprisoned.

If she had to spend the rest of eternity here, then she would.

If Heaven was anything like Angel had told her it was, then she never wanted to leave.

And that was okay with her. She could stay in her little room and paint and dance every single day from here on out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out if you fight fire with a much smaller fire, you get burned. 
> 
> Things are about to get a bit spooky 'round these parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading this a bit early because I do what I want. 
> 
> Apologies for Vaggie's Spanish lines. I don't speak Spanish, so I used Google Translate. Apologies if anything is wrong (btw, if you speak Spanish and can correct what I wrote, feel free to let me know!)

Eden couldn’t have been happier to have something to do in the Hotel during the day. Since Charlie and Vaggie had given her that little space of hers, she would spend the majority of her time during the day creating her own masterpieces and dancing to her heart’s content.

It was her own little slice of Heaven, in a sense.

Not once did she get interrupted, not once did Alastor even suspect her location. In fact, he hadn’t bothered her since she got the room. At long last, she had some peace and quiet. She’d even sleep up there if she had a bed—unfortunately, though, she did have to return to her room to sleep. She didn’t mind, but her room stopped being a place she enjoyed going if she needed an escape.

Charlie had even gone ahead and bought her a Hell Phone to use to reach her if she needed to. Eden swore that Charlie was trying to keep her there forever, but she didn’t mind anymore. She could now live at the Hotel and fly under the radar, even if any more guests arrived. Eden did have hopes that her posters would help bring in new guests.

The latest version read as follows:

VISIT THE FABULOUS HAZBIN HOTEL!

YOUR ONE-WAY TICKET TO THE PEARLY GATES.

AMMENITIES INCLUDED

FREE FOOD AND DRINKS!

This poster featured Vegas-inspired imagery, including there being a sign similar to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign outside of the city. Her inspiration came from Husk, surprisingly. His one-sided conversation with her one day lead to her really getting to know the feline, even though she barely responded.

In all honesty, Eden felt comfortable around everyone she lived with now, and talking was no longer an issue. In fact, whenever she was around most of her new friends and long-lost uncle, she was quite the chatterbox. She felt comfortable around everyone. Boy, if her speech therapist could see the way she’d warmed up to everyone the way she did, she’d faint.

Alastor was still a problem, though. Eden had become comfortable enough that she considered finally speaking to him, but decided that it’d be more fun to go silent when he entered the room. She’d acknowledge him, she’d even sit near him (finally), but she refused to speak to him. It was her own personal game with him, and it was becoming enjoyable to watch him try to get under her skin and force words out of her only to be met with more silence. Eventually, if he went on for long enough, she would flat-out ignore him.

And he _knew_ that he had heard her speaking from down the hall, as quiet as she could be. He’d catch her sharing a laugh with Angel only for her face to lose all expression the moment she spotted him from across the room. Her expression was almost judgmental, in a way.

But, to Eden, Alastor didn’t earn the privilege of hearing her voice. She didn’t trust him, but she was done making herself seem vulnerable to him. She knew herself better than anyone, and she wanted to prove that, despite her weakness, she could be brave. Alastor scared the shit out of her, but she no longer wanted him to know.

She conditioned herself to not feel fear whenever she saw him. She conditioned herself not to run away and hide when she heard his shoes clicking down the hallway. She was picking up on his games quickly, and she decided that, in order to combat her fear, she was going to play her own game with Alastor.

That would backfire quickly, though.

Admittedly, Eden had begun to miss the company of her new friends after a few days. She was under no obligation to stay in her safe haven at all, but was so intrigued by everything it had to offer that she became distracted by it. So, she paid them all a visit right after lunch. With Alastor not being around, it was perfectly safe for Eden to talk to everyone like normal.

She had explained that hopefully soon, she’d begin to join the others at mealtimes. She hated to make whoever was cooking to make her plate earlier than everyone else’s just so she could have hot food to eat, but she still wasn’t comfortable eating around the others just yet. She also admitted that whoever was cooking her meals really knew what they were doing.

Nobody had the guts to tell her who did most of the cooking for the hotel.

Eden’s game became apparent when she was in the middle of cracking up over something Angel had said and Alastor caught her. Charlie and Vaggie had gone off to take care of something.

Horrible timing.

They locked eyes with each other. As usual, Eden’s face returned to a neutral state—no expression or anything. Only this time, Alastor approached her. While he was still smiling, it was most definitely an _angry_ smile. Eden felt that old familiar fear wash over her once again. And Angel, being Angel, decided it’d be best to ditch her and go do something. Alastor hovered over Eden, making her feel smaller than she already was.

“You haven’t been making your little game very difficult to figure out, my dear.”

Eden froze in place. Her eyes widened.

“You know, you would normally be facing the consequences of your actions right now if I didn’t have the self-control that I do.”

Bullshit.

“But I have decided that I am going to spare you for the time being. Mark my words, though. This is your only warning. I am sure you’d make quite the delicious snack.”

“Hey, shitbrain!” Husk called gruffly from across the room. Eden made eye contact with him and he gestured to her to leave when Alastor turned his back on her. Alastor approached Husk, and Eden left the room without making a sound. “Husker, my good friend! I thought we’d spoken about your insults.”

“Cut it out with the intimidation bullshit. Just leave the kid alone, ‘kay?”

“Husker,” Alastor chuckled, “You know I can’t resist souls that make themselves easy targets.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Alastor turned around to finish his confrontation, only to be met with the fact that Eden was no longer in the room.

\--

Eden needed a nap, and, while her safe haven was much safer than her room, there was nowhere comfortable to sleep. So, her room it was.

She barely had time to sleep before Alastor himself materialized in her room. And boy, was he _pissed_. He blocked the door so she couldn’t leave.

“We have some unfinished business to attend to, _dear_ ,” Alastor growled. Eden started praying to some God that wasn’t listen to her that she’d be spared from whatever wrath Alastor was about to unleash unto her.

“Dear, I hate to be so straightforward, but do you think that I am some kind of idiot? Did you think I wouldn’t have half a mind to find you here?”

Eden wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him to leave or smack him upside the face.

“Foolish little girl. You are aware that I can _always_ figure out where you are? Where you’ve been running off to for the past few days?”

Eden shook her head.

“I may not know where you’ve been now, but I _will_ find out.”

Alastor walked over to the bed and practically pinned Eden to the mattress. Eden, in a moment of dire straits, shoved her middle finger in Alastor’s face. He backed off, but he didn’t leave.

Something horrible happened.

Alastor’s eyes turned to dials and the entire room went dark besides his glowing, red eyes. Eden could faintly make out his antlers growing to an impossible size, his height growing, and his body contorting into something no words could describe. Eden tried to scream but, even with all of her effort, no sound came out.

She was completely and utterly fucked.

Suddenly, it felt as though wind was blowing in Eden’s room—something akin to an F5 tornado. The sound was deafening, but Eden could make out the sound of everything in her room being strewn about her room. In the meantime, she could feel some sort of slimy appendage wrap around each of her limbs, restraining her to the bed and cutting off her circulation.

Erasure became a reality in that moment.

But as suddenly as the chaos began, it ended. Alastor returned to his normal (but still freakishly tall) height, his face returned to normal, and his antlers shrank. The lights turned back on and the appendages let go of Eden.

Her room was _destroyed._

“Now, have we learned our lesson?”

As Alastor said his last word, Vaggie could be heard banging on the door and screaming her head off “Alastor, open the door _right now_!”

The door opened without anyone touching the handle. Vaggie burst in. “Vete de aquí o me aseguraré de que los exterminadores te borren primero cuando ocurra la próxima limpieza.”

Alastor chuckled, then snapped his fingers and disappeared. At first, it didn’t register to Vaggie what Alastor had done.

“Are you oka—woah, what the fuck happened here?!”

“I’m never going to get this all cleaned up,” Eden sighed.

Vaggie carefully made her way over to Eden, hopping over clothes and other items that had been strewn all over the floor. She hopped onto the bed and put a hand on Eden’s shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“Not physically.”

“Thank God. That could’ve been so much worse.”

Vaggie hopped back off of the bed. “We’ll talk later. Can I help you clean this all up?”

“Sure.”

The girls got to work, spending hours getting Eden’s room re-organized. Eden returned to her safe haven afterward and didn’t leave. She slept in one of the window seats, as uncomfortable as it was. She had a view of Pentagram City from where she was. She had to admit, the city was really pretty when it was all lit up at night.

At least Alastor couldn’t find her there.

For now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eden gets a taste of Alastor's goofball-ness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update. I'm in the home stretch of my class, but I'm almost there. After this week I'll have a more regular update schedule.

By now, Eden could’ve filled an art gallery with how many paintings she’d done.

A good portion of her gallery from her phone had become a painting- some oil, some watercolor, but they were all hanging on the wall and truly making Eden’s space her own. So much so that she had even started sleeping in there. No one had seen her for two days until Charlie came up looking for her only to find her fast asleep in the window seat, a finished oil painting drying on the easel in the middle of the room.

As for the posters, Charlie was thrilled by them and had sent several of the designs out to be mass-printed and hung around town. Eden had an eye for making each poster seem inviting—nothing on it was wrong, really, and it would surely help bring more guests to the hotel. Eden wanted to make more, but Charlie capped her at seven.

Even though no progress had been made, none of the posters seemed to have been torn down yet. It was hopeful, to say the least.

Eden’s latest painting was of sunflowers. She had spent hours getting the outlines just right and had just begun to paint in the sky.

Eden missed the blue sky. She missed how vibrant it was and how, on a clear day, it made everything seem so much happier and alive.

Hell didn’t have that same type of thing. No matter what time of day it was, the sky was aways red. The only ways to tell what time it was included looking at a clock (which was always a few minutes off anyway) or by looking out a window and seeing what shade of red it was. If it was a lighter red, then it was daytime. If it was a deep red, then it was nighttime. Eden had lost track of the days at this point, and the only reason why she knew when to go to bed was because Charlie knew.

She wasn’t even sure if she slept at the right times when she slept in her safe haven.

As Eden painted the sky, she began to feel an odd sensation. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt some kind of a prickly feeling, almost like chills running down her spine.

She looked up from her painting, but nobody was there. So, she continued, but was on guard in case someone was there. And she sure knew exactly who would’ve been there.

Then, she felt it again, but stronger. She groaned, annoyed.

The sensation went away, and Eden continued painting. For several minutes, all she could hear was the drone of cars in the city below and the faint sound of a leaky pipe.

Then the sensation mildly came back, but now, Eden wasn’t alone.

“A regular Picasso, my dear!”

Startled by the sudden interruption, Eden dragged a thick streak of white all the way down the sky.

“Jesus fucking Christ Alastor! Why are you in here?!” Eden signed to him out of habit, only to be met by Alastor cocking his head in confusion.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand your silly little hand gestures, dear.”

Eden groaned and went to her desk. She pulled out a pad of sticky notes and a pen and scribbled out her message.

_What do you want from me?_

She stuck the note to Alastor’s arm. He read it.

“Dear, since you’ve arrived, you’ve done nothing but ignore me. Isn’t it a little rude to not acknowledge everyone you live with?”

On another note, Eden wrote down:

_Isn’t it a little rude to barge into someone else’s private space without asking first?_

Once again, she stuck the note to Alastor’s coat, and he read the message.

“Darling, you know you can’t hide from me forever. I just want to speak to you! Won’t you speak to me?”

Eden shook her head.

“Why not, dear?’

_I have selective mutism._

_I don’t speak to people I just met or who I don’t trust._

_I don’t trust you._

She pressed the note onto Alastor’s jacket with a bit more force than before.

“What is there not to trust? Why, I’d say I’m the most trustworthy being in this hotel!”

Eden cackled slightly in disgust. Then, she wrote out her final note.

 _Leave_.

Alastor didn’t leave.

Eden turned her back and knew he was still there. So, she texted Charlie and asked her to come get Alastor out because he wouldn’t leave.

He caused no harm, nor did he even speak to her or touch her. He just stood there, waiting for Eden to give him what he wanted.

Eden stood her ground and didn’t move or say a word to Alastor at all. He was persistent, but she wasn’t going to let him get what he wanted. Not now, not ever. He knew that, but his main goal was to be an insufferable little shit to everyone he knew.

Charlie burst through the door expecting a bloody mess. She was relieved to find that the most damage that had been done was the mistake on Eden’s painting, which could easily be fixed.

It was a damn good thing oil paint didn’t dry quickly.

“Alastor!” Charlie yelled. Her patience was wearing thin with the Radio Demon. “You need to leave this room. _Now_.”

Alastor turned around and approached Charlie. “Ah, Miss Charlie. Fancy meeting you here.”

“ ** _Now_**.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.”

Alastor snapped his fingers and disappeared. Charlie approached Eden, who was _cracking up_ at what had just happened.

“Eden, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“No!” she said, still giggling. “I hate him so much.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because he just left the room with all of the sticky notes I put on him still stuck to his jacket.”

“Why did you put sticky notes on his jacket?!”

“It’s how I tried to tell him to leave, but…it didn’t work. He read them, responded, and just…stuck them back on.”

“Probably thinks that doing that would’ve made you verbally point them out. Whatever.”

Charlie examined the paintings hung up on the wall, then noticed the one that Eden had been working on when Alastor appeared. “Your painting—”

“I can fix that. It’s oil paint. It dries super slowly.”

“Oh. I see.”

“I’ll fix it in a sec.”

Charlie came closer to Eden.

“By the way, I was wondering if you felt ready to join us at dinner tonight? You know, instead of eating in your room?”

“I…I’m not sure…”

“Eden, listen. You’re going to have to do it at some point, so you might as well try it now.”

Eden sighed. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I have to fix my painting first, then go wash up, is that okay?”

“That’s fine. Just be down in 30 minutes, sound good?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“See you then!”

Charlie turned around and left the room. Eden returned to her painting and turned the white streak into another cloud, blending it in well with the sky. She’d paint over the rest of it later, anyway.

With that being done, Eden went to her room and washed her hands, arms, and face (she had no idea how she managed to get paint on her face), then changed into a nice dress and went down to eat dinner with everyone else for the first time ever.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden finally eats with the rest of the gang, and spends some time snoozing on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a taste of that tooth-rotting fluff I promised.

Eden wasn’t at all hungry, and until she was actually sitting at the dinner table, she considered feigning illness and avoiding dinner all together. But, as much as she hated to admit it, Charlie was right about meal times.

She would eventually have to eat with everyone else, so why not try it today?

Eden was used to having her meals delivered to her on a tray, usually by Charlie or Vaggie. Most recently, whoever made the meals also wrote and sent an _awful_ joke to go with it, seemingly wanting Eden to feel good. She didn’t exactly recognize the handwriting, but she also couldn’t figure out whose it was. All she knew is that that person had _very_ neat handwriting—cursive, and somehow not heavy-handed in the slightest.

Either way, this was someone who clearly understood Eden’s undying weakness for dad jokes. Eden had affixed every single one to the wall above her desk in her room to look at if she was feeling down. She felt it would be better to not question who was sending the jokes to her—that might ruin how she felt about them.

Eden examined herself in the mirror for any drops of paint that lingered on her skin. She smiled at herself in approval, noting that her fangs seemed to be getting bigger. Then, she checked her dress. It was one she hadn’t yet worn. The red corduroy of her dress would’ve made her skin look _incredibly_ pink had it not been for the black turtleneck she’d put on underneath. She also put that beret she’d bought as a joke to good use and finished off her outfit with it. Her legs were adorned with black polka-dot tights and, for a slightly threatening touch, she wore black platform ankle boots.

She was finally becoming the badass bitch that she had secretly dreamed of being.

Sighing, Eden decided that it was time to bite the bullet and go downstairs. Her body shook as she opened the door, slowly making her way down the hall and to the stairs. Her boots softly echoed off the walls in the stairwell as she descended, a feeling of dread overcoming her.

But no, she had to be brave. She easily could’ve turned around and went upstairs, and resisting the urge to felt like trying to swim against a rip tide. But that was the entire point—even though Charlie wouldn’t have been upset if she chickened out, Eden wanted to prove that she was brave. She wasn’t going to speak, especially if _he_ was there, but this was a good start.

For a second Eden thought that maybe Alastor _wasn’t_ so bad after all. But she shook the thought away as quickly as it crept into her mind, now becoming distracted by the scent of her meal coming from the dining room. It smelled delightful, but she couldn’t tell what it was. It had a slight undertone of seafood.

 _Shit_.

She’d never told anyone about her shellfish allergy. Ironic for someone that lived in Rhode Island for her entire life, and fortunately, it wasn’t a very severe allergy. She could deal with a few hives, right? Those would go away. She might suffer a bit without any sort of medication, but…this was Hell. This was her punishment. Hives were nothing when compared to what some people had to go through.

Eden entered the dining room just as everyone was taking a seat in front of a full plate. It was awfully quiet for a room full of loud-mouthed sinners, and Eden didn’t want to ask what had happened to cause this. Maybe it was her? Or maybe something had happened in the half an hour before dinner was served.

A plate was set out for Eden next to Vaggie. Vaggie had made a point to seat her as far away from Alastor as possible. Eden sat down, examining her meal. Jambalaya, with a buttered roll. She’d eaten this before, but without the shrimp. Not wanting to be rude, she dug in and ate it as if nothing was wrong. For the first few minutes, everything was fine. No one spoke as they ate.

Weird.

Eden continued to eat in complete silence, surprised that she wasn’t having a reaction to the shrimp.

That is, until she felt the unbearable feeling of a hive forming above her lip.

Then two.

Then three.

She tried to ignore it and continued eating despite it feeling like there were a thousand fire ants pricking her face with tiny sewing pins. She ate the roll and she finished her meal fully, defiantly, not realizing that everyone—even Alastor, was looking at her with a horrified look on their face. She knew her whole face and her neck were covered in hives, and it _burned_.

If her grandmother had been there, she would be slathering some odd-smelling ointment on her right about now.

“Uhh Eden?” Vaggie asked, breaking the silence. “You okay?”

Eden gave her a thumbs up, a pained smirk now adorning her face. Vaggie, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on, wanting to scold Eden for eating something that could potentially kill her, but also understanding that she probably didn’t want to be rude and take the shrimp out of her meal. So, she stayed quiet.

Besides, Eden would really be fine besides the hives lingering into the morning.

Eden glanced around the room some more and laid eyes on Alastor, whose smile read as half sympathetic for her and half entertained by her suffering. He hadn’t intended on making her have an allergic reaction to his cooking, but had she just _spoken up_ and said that she couldn’t eat shrimp, he wouldn’t have put it in. So, this was entirely her fault.

Eden had to admit, though, the jambalaya was _delicious_. She still didn’t know who made it, and was too afraid to ask. Most questions she had she was too afraid to ask.

Her stomach full, she quietly excused herself and returned to her room, looking for something, _anything_ , to help calm her skin down. The only thing she had was a tiny bottle of lotion. It would have to do for now. It hardly helped, but it was _something_.

All she hoped was that whoever cooked around here got the memo _not_ to put seafood in her meals ever again.

\--

Eden couldn’t sleep that night.

She had tried going to bed early, as she had developed a headache, presumably from how many shrimps she had consumed. Despite this, and despite how much water she’d drank that evening, she couldn’t sleep.

Finally, she’d had enough. Since everyone else was asleep, she went downstairs and mindlessly watched TV. Some sort of old movie was the only thing that caught her attention. The male lead’s voice was oddly soothing, and it soon sent her straight off to dreamland.

Eden awoke the next morning before anyone was awake. Immediately, she was met with the sensation of the softest blanket she’d ever felt, and the scent of vanilla and old books. She hadn’t fallen asleep with a blanket on, either. The TV and the dim lamp she’d turned on the previous night had been turned off.

Perhaps Charlie had come down and noticed her sleeping there, so she wasn’t going to worry about it. She took the blanket upstairs with her when she went to get ready for the way. Then, on the way down to breakfast, she caught Charlie in the hallway.

“Here’s your blanket,” she said, handing it to the Princess. Charlie squinted at the fluffy pink mass in front of her.

“That’s not mine,” she replied.

“Then whose is it?”

“I dunno,” Charlie shrugged. “Just leave it downstairs. I’m sure someone will claim it.”

Eden decided, in that moment, that she was going to experiment and see if she could catch the blanket wielder in the act. That night, she came down at the same time. The blanket had been claimed. She fell asleep uncovered on the couch with the TV and lamp on.

The next morning, the blanket was back and everything was off. Someone was fucking with her. At some point she’d catch the culprit, right? _Right?!_

The sixth day was the day that she gave up on her experiment, but not before having a dream that shook her to her core—one of those dreams she wouldn’t even _dare_ speak of when she woke up.

\--

Alastor quite enjoyed the hotel at night after everyone was in bed. Although he preferred to spend time in his room, the late nights were often his time to take a book downstairs and read quietly in a nook tucked away in the lobby. Lately, though, he had not been able to engage in this, as his space seemed to have been invaded by someone else.

A blue-haired demon who refused to say a word to him.

In any other circumstance, Alastor would’ve had a field day messing with her and ruining her sleep. However, Eden looked too peaceful. She almost looked angelic, her chest slowly rising and falling as she breathed, happily dreaming sweet dreams.

That is, until she began to jerk and grunt in her sleep, plagued by a nightmare once more. Alastor, blanket in hand, covered her up, making sure she could feel its texture with her face. He crouched down next to her, in disbelief about what he was going to do.

He lightly rubbed her back, being careful not to wake her up. “There there, little one. There is no need to fret. Whatever is tainting your sweet dreams, let it be gone.”

Eden seemed to relax as Alastor spoke to her softly. He moved his hand to push a silky curl behind her ear, then stroked her face. “I know that you fear me, darling, but for once, I don’t feel the need to cause you any harm. I just want to speak to you. I hope you know that I have no ill intentions with you.”

Alastor pulled the blanket fully over Eden, who grabbed it and turned over. He stood up, turning off the light and the TV, then headed back to his room.

Nobody would ever know about this softer side of him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden makes a terrible, horrible mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!Warning- chapter contains violence and gore. Please read at your own risk.!!

Eden didn’t often draw outside of her safe haven, but when she did, it was usually on days when things were quiet. Today was one of those days, especially considering how unusual it was.

That morning, Charlie left for home to attend the Magne family reunion. Originally, Vaggie was going to attend with her. However, after Eden came, Vaggie felt it best if she stayed back and made sure things stayed under control at the hotel. Charlie had been upset with her when she broke the news, but eventually decided that Vaggie had made a wise decision.

If it wasn’t Eden getting seriously hurt, it was the hotel becoming completely destroyed by someone’s ignorance. Both scared Vaggie to no end, and she had to make her decision based on that. It did not, however, negate the guilt she felt about making Charlie go to the reunion by herself. She _hated_ upsetting Charlie, but she also realized that if they both cared about the hotel, then this was a better decision for Vaggie to make. Vaggie didn’t want Charlie to miss going home for this, either. She could handle it.

Right?

Even then, she didn’t want to be attached to Eden 24/7. Eden was an adult—a scared adult, at that—and Vaggie would’ve rather been within walking distance of any troubles that arose than hundreds of miles away. She figured that Eden wouldn’t be one to provoke Alastor enough for him to hurt her, nor did she think that anyone else would cause too much of an issue if she was around.

But that was not a risk she was willing to take.

Eden, still, worked on herself enough to find courage to relax in the lobby with her sketchbook and a few pencils. She hadn’t seen anyone besides Husk since breakfast. A dingy, pinkish light shining through the front entrance gave her enough natural light to see the pages of her sketchbook well. It was odd to her how the lobby could be so chaotic at times when right now, it was peaceful. Right now, she was there to watch for any newcomers, even though none had come yet.

She really embraced the calmness. As much as she loved spending time in her little secluded area, it was nice to be around in case anyone decided to talk to her. At some point, Niffty came by and said, “Hello!” as she cleaned the hotel, but the little bug was so busy that having a conversation with her was impossible. Eden was still keen to greet her in return, though.

Two hours passed with barely an interruption. Eden sketched different things—animals, her friends, some flowers. Some were colored in lightly with colored pencils. She filled three pages with sketches before contemplating getting a snack from the kitchen.

Then, she noticed that she was being watched from an uncomfortably close distance. Her field of view was flooded with red and pinstripes. _How long had he been standing there, anyway?_

Eden groaned and rolled her eyes, shutting her sketchbook and putting her pencils away.

“Well, that was quite rude of you, my dear!”

Eden got up and walked away from Alastor, approaching the bar. She put her sketchbook and pencil bag on the bar, then climbed up onto the stool. Time for her usual routine, a strawberry milkshake to make Alastor go away. The perfect cure!

Only this time, it wasn’t.

Alastor sat next to her and ordered the most bitter whiskey he could tolerate, then sipped on it as he tried desperately to get Eden to talk to him. He suffered through the stomach ache that was brewing in his gut from the awful strawberry smell that filled his nostrils.

“My dear, why are you always so silent?”

Eden sourly glanced at Alastor from the corners of her eyes, scowling, then returning to her shake. She was not having any of his bullshit anymore. He just wouldn’t leave her alone. _Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?_ Surely she wasn’t that interesting, was she?

“Al, buddy,” Husk chimed in, “Leave the kid alone. She doesn’t want to talk to you, for fuck’s sake.”

“Why not? Isn’t it a bit rude to ignore your coworkers, dear?”

Eden didn’t respond. She tried to finish her shake as fast as she could so she could just leave. Alastor sipped his whiskey as he waited for her to say something, _anything_. No matter what Eden had already told him, he just didn’t want to listen. Surely she could get over her selective mutism! She could just _talk_ , right? That shouldn’t be that hard.

It took every ounce of self-control Eden had left in her body not to waste her first words with Alastor on yelling at him about how he needed to learn to respect that not everyone wants to talk to him.

“ _Manners, my dear_.”

Eden finished her shake, then hastily got up, leaving her drawing supplies at the bar. She’d come back for them later, but right now, she needed to find Vaggie so that she could get Alastor to leave her alone.

She was not expecting Alastor to follow, and that was foolish of her.

Before Eden even made it to the stairwell, Alastor grabbed Eden’s wrist, pulling her toward him, then he turned her around, holding her wrist and looking down on her as if she was a small child. Eden was more annoyed than anything at this point, and her patience with the Radio Demon was running thinner than the yellow paint she’d accidentally left out in the sun the previous summer.

“Dear, you _will_ speak to me.”

Eden shook her head in defiance. She was having absolutely none of this.

“And, darling, you should smile! You’d look much—”

_SMACK._

Both Eden and Alastor were shocked by the sudden slap right to Alastor’s face. A small red handprint arose on his cheek, and it was in that moment Eden knew that she’d fucked up.

Alastor was no longer calm with her. He could deal with her not speaking to him, running away from him, and drinking that God-awful concoction around him.

However, being slapped like that was completely out of line, and Eden was going to pay for such an action.

Alastor would not let go of Eden as he began to grow to the height of the ceiling, his figure darkening and his eyes turning to dials as he did. This was the exact thing she was expecting in Hell. Alastor had completely lost his composure, and Eden was so scared she couldn’t think straight. She wanted to scream, but the sight before her was too shocking.

Then, Alastor struck.

Eden felt a sharp pain that turned into nothing as Alastor sunk his teeth into her right arm, right at the crook of her elbow, and all the way down to the bone. As he did, she screamed for Vaggie, hoping that the moth was within earshot of her.

\--

Vaggie had been happy that the hotel had stayed calm that day. So far, she hadn’t needed to come break up a fight or rescue Eden. Instead, she had been in her room all day, watching sappy romance movies from her home country. How she’d accessed them was anyone’s guess, but it was keeping her occupied while Charlie was away.

That is, until her film was interrupted by a pained scream from just below her, and she instantly knew that something had gone awry. She paused the movie and got up, spear in hand, and ran downstairs so fast that she didn’t have time to think about what she was going to do.

And, just as she’d feared, there was Alastor, beginning to make a fine meal out of Eden. She approached him and screamed in Spanish for him to let go of Eden _now_. He did, regaining his composure, but with a slight look of shame on his face and Eden’s blood smeared all over. He snapped his fingers and disappeared. Eden was on the floor, wide-eyed from shock. She felt no pain, but knew that Alastor had done some damage.

Vaggie wasted no time getting Eden upstairs and to her room to fix her up. Eden’s arm was bleeding profusely, and Vaggie needed to be quick. She’d clean up the blood later—or, perhaps Niffty would get it—but making sure that Eden was okay was her first priority.

Having had to survive for a time on her own, fighting off Hell’s worst, Vaggie knew exactly what to do. She cleaned out the wounds, even through Eden’s pained squeals, then tightly wrapped Eden’s arm in several layers of bandages. Vaggie made up her mind that Alastor had gone too far, and Charlie would be hearing about this.

She didn’t want to bother Charlie, though, but she knew Charlie had to know.

She brought Eden to her bed and propped her arm up on a pile of pillows with a towel underneath. “Okay. Stay here. I’m going to go get you some ice and water. Are you okay?”

“I-I dunno…” Eden said, still in shock.

“Okay just…stay here please. I’ll be right back.”

Vaggie gathered up the blood-soaked towels from the bathroom floor and brought them with her on the way out. She stopped by the laundry room and threw them into the washer immediately, then went to the kitchen and filled two big bags with ice and grabbed four bottles of water and a small bag of crackers. She then hastily made her way back upstairs, glad to see that Eden was still conscious.

The ice went on her arm and the water was opened. Eden took a sip. “Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Vaggie.

“I’m a little dizzy, but I’ll be okay.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

Vaggie sighed in relief. “Okay. Listen to me. I’m going to go get a few things from your room. I just…I don’t feel comfortable with you sleeping alone in your room tonight after what happened. Honestly, I don’t feel safe sleeping by myself right now.”

“Does Charlie know…?”

“I don’t plan on telling her until she comes home tomorrow. She’s already stressed as it is with me being alone here, and I don’t want her to feel like she needs to come back. We’ll be fine. Alastor avoids this room like the plague.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

“I mean…a positive is that this’ll feel like a sleepover.”

“I suppose. Anyway, do not leave this room tonight, okay?”

“Got it.”

The most important thing, to Vaggie, was that Eden was safe. And right now, this was the safest place she could possibly be.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaggie and Eden have a sleepover following the events of the day.  
> Later, Charlie finds out what happened, and she is NOT happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fat nuggets cameo! that is all.

Every so often, Alastor didn’t cook dinner for the hotel. Normally, this meant that someone else was cooking. Tonight, things were so weird that nobody cooked at all. Vaggie and Eden ordered a pizza instead.

Hell pizza wasn’t _great_ , but it also wasn’t terrible, either. Charlie knew some of the best places in town, and while even those weren’t the best, they were something. At least it was edible, unlike many of the other places in Hell. It was also the only place that was even willing to deliver to the hotel, since its reputation was already so poor.

While they ate, Vaggie and Eden bonded some more on their own. They both realized how much they actually had in common, like their shared love of bad 90s rom-coms and playlist of one-hit wonders that they wanted to make. They spent a good amount of time making fun of Alastor and laughing hysterically.

Eden forgot all about her arm.

To make the sleepover _feel_ more like a sleepover, the girls decided to do their hair and makeup as if they were teenagers, then picked a movie from Vaggie’s collection to watch when they were done. Vaggie offered to straighten Eden’s hair.

“If you want to be here for hours, be my guest.”

“Well,” Vaggie laughed, “I had a cousin with hair like yours, but not as long. It’ll be fine.”

Vaggie got to work on Eden’s hair, separating it into a few sections, then getting to work. The bottom section, when fully straightened, nearly touched the floor. “Damn, girl!” Vaggie said in awe. “How do you deal with all of this?”

“I just…do? My hair wasn’t even a fraction of this length when I was alive. You’ve seen it.”

“Hell does this thing where it likes to give you minor annoyances that aren’t really traumatic or anything. And it looks like you were blessed with gorgeous long hair that is a pain in the _ass_ to deal with when it’s too hot. I got that too, but it’s nowhere near as curly.”

“Lovely.”

Vaggie continued to work through Eden’s hair, being careful to get every last strand of it. An hour later, she had only done half of it. Now she understood why Eden never did anything with her hair. She _got_ it. Having ridiculously long hair herself, if she did do anything with it, she was pulling it back to sleep or keep it out of her face.

The girls were unaware that they wouldn’t be alone for very long.

Suddenly, someone frantically banged on the door. “Hey Vagina! Open up!”

Vaggie rolled her eye, putting the straightener down and going to answer the door. “What do you want, Angel?” she asked as she opened the door, Angel’s looming figure greeting her.

“Smiles is on a rampage right now and he’s been trying to turn Fat Nuggets into bacon. Do you mind if I—”

“Stay in here until he’s done?”

“Yeah. That.”

“Ugh, fine. Come in.”

Angel entered the room, pig in tow, and put the little guy down. Fat Nuggets immediately went to Eden, sniffing her leg. Eden looked down at the creature and her eyes lit up. “Oh my _goodness!_ ” she cried, “He’s _so cute!_ ”

“He likes you!” Angel chuckled. “I’m not even surprised.”

Eden picked up the pig and put him in her lap. He immediately lay down and Eden gave him a few pats. Vaggie picked up the straightener and continued working on Eden’s hair. Angel had taken up space in a beanbag in the corner of the room, browsing through his phone as he relaxed. He peeked over to Eden and immediately noticed the bandages on her arm.

“So uh, Eden,” Angel began, “What’s the deal with your arm there?”

“This?” Eden asked, pointing to her bandages. “Oh, Alastor bit me earlier.”

“You act like that’s not a bad thing. Eh, at least that explains why he’s being so…so… _predatory_ tonight. You uh…you okay?”

“I’m okay. Kinda shaken up. It surprisingly doesn’t hurt that much.”

“It will. But uh… what’d you do to even get him to do that?”

Eden bit her bottom lip, knowing that Vaggie would _kill her_. But she couldn’t lie about what she did.

“So, basically,” Eden began, “He got into my personal space, and I got fed up, and I _may or may not have_ slapped him in the face…”

“ _What?!_ ” Vaggie and Angel answered at the same time, one in horror and one in amusement. Vaggie retracted from Eden’s hair.

“Hah!” Angel cackled, “That’s fuckin’ **bold** , kid! Like...you’re the only one with the _balls_ to do that!”

“Am I?”

“Honestly, I would have,” Vaggie answered, returning to Eden’s hair. “Well, until I saw what happened to Eden.”

“Eh, I believe you, Vags.”

Vaggie finished up Eden’s hair, then brushed through it to make sure she got every last inch of it. She went to the mirror to get a good look at her hair.

“Look at you, Rapunzel!” Angel said, snapping a picture of her for his Instagram. “Gonna find a prince to let down your hair to?”

“Only if his intention is to yank me out of the tower and have me wake up in my grandparents’ house and realize this was all a dream.”

Nobody responded at first. Then, Angel snorted.

“Sheesh, kid. That was dark.”

“What? It’s true. Right…?”

“May I remind you—”

“Nope. Not at all. I don’t want a reminder.”

Angel found Eden’s comment very odd. Did she know she was dead? The way she dodged certain questions or answered them so weirdly was odd to him. He knew for a fact that only sinners were sent to hell, so what was Eden doing there? What had she done?

He figured he’d better wait until she was ready to say something.

\--

After a while, all three of the demons went to do their nails. Vaggie’s polishes had been mixed in with Charlie’s and she didn’t even know which ones were hers anymore. Angel, being Angel, chose to do his nails in the brightest pink he could find and topped it with a glitter topcoat. Eden did a simple nude polish with some gold glitter on top, and Vaggie chose her favorite black polish with holographic glitter as her topcoat.

Never had Hell seen so much glitter in one room before.

Of course, no sleepover is ever complete without a movie. Fortunately, Vaggie had just the right movie—one of the most clichéd 90s rom-coms she had ever seen. It would be great. The three friends and Fat Nuggets crowded onto the bed around Vaggie’s laptop, and the movie began to play.

The movie was…something. Angel was the only one that was seriously invested in the story. Vaggie and Eden took none of it seriously, laughing at even the sad bits because they were so poorly written and acted. If anything, this was the exact kind of entertainment all three of them needed to forget about the events of earlier in the afternoon.

After the movie ended, it was late, and everyone was exhausted. Vaggie allowed Eden to sleep in the same bed as her while Angel took his place on the beanbag, able to sleep anywhere. Fat Nuggets curled up next to Eden, providing her some comfort as she slept.

\--

Charlie returned back to the hotel early the next morning. She had wanted to stay later at her parents, but she had had the overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t quite right at the hotel. She grabbed a quick breakfast at Hellbucks on her way out, then ate and drank on her way back to Pentagram City.

Vaggie was awake early that morning as well. When Charlie returned, she found Vaggie making herself a smoothie in the kitchen. When Charlie noticed that Alastor wasn’t making breakfast, she immediately panicked and asked Vaggie what had happened.

“So, yesterday was good until the late afternoon, Vaggie began. “Sparing you the details, Alastor bit Eden, and it was deep. I managed to find her in time and she slept in our room last night, but I guess after that, Alastor went to tormenting Angel and that pig, and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”

“Okay, Vaggie? Let me go take care of this.”

Charlie stormed to the elevator and rode it to the 13th floor. When the doors opened, she stomped down the hall to Alastor’s room. She pounded on the door angrily.

“Nobody’s home!” Alastor answered sourly.

“Alastor! Open the damn door _right now_!”

An audible groan could be heard from the room, and moments later, the door opened. Alastor was not expecting to be greeted by an angry Charlie so early in the morning. “What did you do?!” Charlie demanded.

“Nothing at all, dear. It was quite the peaceful night last night!”

“Oh, so what’s all this I hear about you _almost killing_ Eden _and_ Angel last night, then?”

“Didn’t happen.”

“Don’t lie.”

“And what about either of those events?”

“Al. I have warned you _time and time again_ not to hurt anyone and not to harm anyone,” Charlie emphatically counted both warnings on her fingers, “and you continue to do so anyway. You’ve been warned about bothering Eden, you’ve been warned about touching others without asking.”

Suddenly, Charlie’s voice dropped several octaves and distorted itself, her eyes turning red and her horns appearing from her head. She grew several inches, now towering over Alastor. “You’ve crossed a line!”

Alastor retreated slightly, an unusual sense of fear washing over him like a tidal wave. “Alright, alright! Fine!”

Charlie returned to her regular state, her demonic voice returning to her characteristically sweet one. “You _promise_ you’ll stop with your shenanigans?”

“I promise, and I shall _keep_ that promise.” Charlie had her doubts about Alastor’s sincerity, but she was willing to give him the chance to change his habits.

“You need to _keep_ that promise, then,” she mocked. “And I mean it.”

Charlie returned to Vaggie, who was now slowly sipping on her smoothie in the dining room.

“How’d it go?” she asked.

“It’s taken care of,” Charlie replied, smirking. “I think he got the message.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor comes up with a plan, and Eden gets revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double update since this chapter was super short. also, my first chapter for this thing with no dialog.   
> mild TW for reference to cannibalism/alastor tripping balls at the end

Alastor had spent the better part of the last few days pacing his room and trying to figure out exactly what it was he wanted. As much as everyone asked, Alastor had lost sight of what he wanted with Eden. Truthfully, he never really desired anything out of her—taunting her was losing its flavor, and he needed to figure something else out. No matter what he thought of, nothing seemed interesting.

The strangest thing, to him, was the actual, genuine remorse he felt for biting Eden’s arm. He couldn’t figure out why it bothered him so much. Normally, he would’ve felt nothing—perhaps a thrill. He didn’t want to admit it, but seeing Eden in pain because of him was sad. It _genuinely_ saddened him. He shouldn’t have felt this way. It wasn’t _him._

Not to mention that her flesh and blood tasted _terrible_. It had a sweet, almost fruity taste to it. It was like biting into a warm apple. Apples were one of the few fruits that Alastor could tolerate, but Eden’s taste was overwhelming. He’d never tasted something quite like it, and that was enough to deter him from pulling such a stunt ever again. If anyone asked, _that_ was why he changed his mind. Not this silly _remorse_ thing. No, that would be silly.

It also still baffled him how closed off Eden was. He was only able to figure out two things: Eden was quite young—definitely an adult, but _young_ , and that she was _very_ out of place here. He felt it quite disrespectful that she wouldn’t speak to him when he tried to talk to her. He knew she could hear perfectly fine—she was able to respond to him with those silly notes, anyway—and she _could_ talk. She had claimed she couldn’t trust him. Clearly, she’d gained the trust of everyone else. He’d heard short snippets of her voice. High-pitched, mousy. It was quite cute, he had to admit.

She seemed _innocent_. Alastor knew that she was the prime target for corruption. But he wasn’t going to let just _anyone_ corrupt her, no. No one that would abuse her or make her feel worthless. He’d tried this with Charlie when he first arrived, but realized quickly that she wasn’t easily moved. So, he’d lowered the intensity of his antics just a bit, now knowing that the Princess of Hell was going to be a challenge for him.

Eden, on the other hand, would become his new project. Like with Charlie, he had to know what would make her tick. Painting? Maybe—something he didn’t have much knowledge about, but it’d be very easy to talk about her paintings with him, he was sure. Dancing? Absolutely. He noticed the ballet barres in her little room. Alastor had a very basic understanding of ballet himself, but from his visit and from listening into conversations in the lobby, he knew that, if anything, dancing was a common interest between them and might be the exact thing he could use to get on her good side.

He could use that to pull more information from her, then, when he knew enough, gradually turn her into his little assistant. Surely, she wasn’t as nice or sweet as she let on. _Surely_ she’d commit to him easily. Being his assistant was an _honor_ , after all. She wouldn’t be like Niffty or Husk. Rather, she’d become a miniature female version of himself. Double the trouble! The thought made his smile double in size.

But, as with Charlie, he _never_ considered the possibility that he could be wrong, or that his plan wouldn’t work. And what would happen if this backfired? He did think about that seriously, but he knew that his plan was _foolproof_. Plus, if Eden wasn’t fully convinced, he at least felt safe with feeling like buying her all of the pretty dresses her heart desired was a surefire way to keep her interested. She was quite fashionable, from what he could see. Cared about her appearance, kept a bare face for the most part—the face of classic femininity. _Perfect_!

The problem he still had was that he had to do this without anyone noticing. Both Charlie and Vaggie were now keeping a close eye on him, and anything suspicious could mean literal _erasure_ for him. He also had to figure out how in the nine circles he was going to even get him and Eden alone, because she avoided him anytime he was around. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

Still, it was worth trying, right?

\--

It was odd that Eden had been in Hell for so long yet had not developed any powers. By now, most demons had _something_ to back them up. Eden had nothing. She was completely helpless. Since arriving at the hotel, she had only left one other time, and it was with others. The fact that she survived a week on the streets like that was nothing short of a miracle.

Another oddity was that she had _no_ idea what species she was. She didn’t have horns or anything to indicate her species. The only thing she had going for her was a pair of fangs that didn’t fit inside her mouth. They occasionally dried out, meaning that she had to lick them every so often, and it was quite awkward. She made a point of taking very good care of them, brushing them after every meal. They were pretty much harmless, though.

She wondered how long it would be until something, _anything_ , would happen that indicated her abilities as a demon.

One day, a few days after the bite incident, she was doing a still-life painting on her tablet of an apple. All day, her arms and hands had been feeling strange, almost tingly, like TV static dancing on her skin. Something in the back of her mind was telling her to stretch or do something to relieve the sensation. As the day went on, the sensation grew stronger. She couldn’t stand it anymore and clenched her fists as hard as she could without piercing her hands with her claws.

When she opened them, sure enough, a bright red apple had materialized in her palm. She sniffed it, then took a bite. It was juicy, sweet, and crunchy. It was just a regular old apple, nothing special. Surely, if this was her ability, she should be able to do something to torture others, right?

She kept trying. Every time, the apple she created was just a normal apple. So, she tried thinking about a poison apple, one with odd-colored skin and a foul taste. She tried clenching her fists one more time, and the apple she had been thinking about appeared. She didn’t even have to taste it, either. She smelled it and felt sick.

She knew what she needed to do, and she had a particular demon she wanted to get revenge on.

\--

Alastor was knocked out of his thoughts by a small knock at his door. He answered, but nobody was there. Had he been hearing things? Surely not.

He looked down and a dark red apple was on the rug on a napkin. Around the stem was a piece of masking tape that, in permanent marker, had a label:

_Eat me!_ _😊_

Alastor wasn’t sure if he should trust the fruit. He didn’t know where it came from, and something was _off_ about it. But…he was kind of hungry. Kind of.

He took a bite. At first, it didn’t taste too bad. It was mild, not too sweet. Just the way he liked it. He retreated back into his room, and took another bite. The second was a bit more bitter than the last, but still fine.

A few bites later, he realized that he had made a _horrible_ mistake. The room began spinning, so he went to lay down in his bed. The next hour was spent with him staring at the ceiling, psychedelic patterns slowly filling his field of view. He soaked his pillow with drool.

An hour later, it was safe to say that Alastor wouldn’t be cooking dinner that night. The trip wore off, and he then became _violently_ ill. Charlie came in to check on him, only calling out that Angel would be cooking tonight and that he should just stay in his room for the night.

Eden was _thrilled_ to know she’d tricked the Radio Demon.

Check. Mate.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden has a change of heart.

Despite everything she’d believed, Eden couldn’t stop thinking about Alastor. After she had given him the apple and heard about what had happened, she felt kind of _bad_ about what she did. Still, she needed to get payback in her own way. She was surprised that he even fell for it. Then again, would he have expected her to do _anything_ for him, good or bad?

Along the way, something changed in her.

Up until recently, Eden was afraid of Alastor. If he came into the same room as her, she’d immediately leave. If she was laughing and saw him, she’d immediately stop and stare him down. His antics were causing her so much pain and harm, and she couldn’t stand it any longer. She had to admit to herself that she _did_ want to get to know him.

Everything came to a head when he bit her.

Since then, he had softened up a bit. Coming into the hotel lobby while Eden was there, he’d avoid her. Eden wouldn’t acknowledge him at all. She’d even growl sometimes, an ability she didn’t know she had until recently. Somehow, he knew something was up, and that he should probably stay away unless he wanted to be erased.

Then, something happened.

One day, Alastor came into the hotel lobby, being his usual loud, boisterous self. He chatted with Husk for a long while, sipping on a rare glass of whiskey. He never got drunk or anything, he just wanted a drink, Eden supposed. It was a social thing for him rather than a get-drunk kind of thing.

But there was something about how he looked that day.

He dressed differently for once and Eden could smell him. He smelled…nice. Every now and then, he would shoot Eden looks of acknowledgement from across the room.

And Eden would accept them.

Dare she say, he looked _handsome_. He’d clearly paid special attention to every detail of his outfit. Not a single wrinkle or rip could be found on any article of clothing. His trousers were cleanly pressed and hemmed, and his bow tie was straight. He’d even gone through the effort of polishing his shoes to the point where it was almost blinding. Alastor was _definitely_ up to something.

So, the next day, she tried dressing just a little differently herself. Normally, she wore muted cool colors or darker jewel tones. That day, though, she wore a pink cotton dress that had just the slightest amount of frill to the hem. She pulled her hair back and tied it with a thin white ribbon. She even wore a tiny bit of makeup—not a ton, just enough to accent her features.

Boy, Alastor nearly keeled over when he saw her that day. He didn’t want to admit it, but she looked _really_ pretty—a true belle, as it were. He was going to go over and try to strike up a conversation with her, assuming she wouldn’t run away from him.

And then he spotted the milkshake.

Eden had all but forgotten about the deer’s intense hatred for the drink, and her hopes of possibly opening up to him were shattered for that day. In one swift, uncharacteristically stealthy movement, he returned to his hideaway on the 13th floor.

Hadn’t he tolerated the horrid concoction the day he bit her?

Eden had had enough of this nonsense. She was done running from Alastor and hiding from him. So, she consulted Charlie.

Eden was not at all prepared to admit to Charlie—or herself, for that matter—the possibility that she _maybe, kinda, sorta_ had a small crush on Alastor now.

It came as no surprise to anyone that Charlie was supportive of Eden’s feelings about the situation. So, she helped her plan the whole thing.

“You two could sit and have a cold drink of something in the courtyard!” she suggested. “Vaggie and I will stay on standby if you need us. But, you’re right about this,” Charlie’s demeanor changed from excited to more serious, “You do need to be braver and speak to him. In all honesty, I think that’s all he wants.”

“What is?”

“For you to talk to him.”

Eden shrugged. “What do I need to know?”

“Oh…oh boy,” Charlie laughed nervously. “I won’t say much besides wear a dress or a skirt or something that flares out when you spin. Trust me.”

Confused, Eden took Charlie’s advice. Charlie clearly knew something Eden didn’t. “Advice taken.”

Eden returned to her room, giddy about the meeting the next day. She tore through her closet, looking for something pretty to wear, something that would flare out when she spun. Then, she found it. A deep red crushed velvet dress. It was sleeveless with the slightest amount of turtleneck. Eden loved velvet so much, and she hoped that Alastor had an affinity for soft things like she did.

Shoes? Flats. The same ones she wore every day. As much as she was _dying_ to wear her new heels so that Alastor didn’t make her feel so tiny, they hadn’t been broken in yet, and bloody ankles were just not a good look.

Especially around a cannibalistic deer demon who could smell the tiniest drop of blood from a mile away.

Eden tried on her ensemble, making sure it was the one. She really felt beautiful, and she wanted Alastor to see that she was a lot more confident than she let on.

She really, really hoped this was going to go well.

\--

Charlie immediately went to Alastor to tell him the news. He was thrilled that Eden had changed her mind about him. Really, he was.

Charlie was _serious_ about what Alastor needed to do. After everything he’d done to Eden since her arrival, it was imperative that Alastor not only knew what he was supposed to do, but that he also followed through with everything. Charlie needed to assert her authority over him and make sure he realized that Eden wasn’t just his plaything.

Although, something about the way Eden was carrying herself while asking Charlie for help seemed different. Until that moment, Eden always spoke about him with utter disgust, even going so far as to avoid saying his name as much as possible. Charlie couldn’t shake the memory of a soft pink blush painting Eden’s cheeks when she said his name. It was painfully obvious. The way she smiled about him, the fact that she was clearly holding back from gushing about him.

Was Eden falling in love with the very man that had tried to cannibalize her not that long ago?

Charlie’s mind was at odds with itself. She felt both sick to her stomach and giddy, and she wasn’t sure which was worse. Either way, she wasn’t prepared to break Eden’s heart by telling her the truth. There was no way that Alastor would ever love her back. He might think of her as a friend, but that was about it.

Sighing, Charlie knocked on Alastor’s door. Moments later, Alastor answered, and was relieved to see that Charlie didn’t look like she wanted to put him on the guillotine this time. “Charlie! Lovely to see you here. What news do you bring?”

“Can I come in, actually? It’s gonna take a bit for me to explain.”

Alastor opened the door wider, stepping to the side to let Charlie into his room. The book he’d been reading was left open on the desk in the corner of the room, and the bed hadn’t yet been made. Alastor snapped his fingers and another chair appeared next to his desk. He returned to his seat and picked up his book again. Charlie sat down in the new chair.

“Book down,” she scolded. “I need your full attention.”

Alastor put a bookmark in where he had left off and looked at Charlie with a sly grin on his face.

“So listen. Eden would like to talk to you.”

“Well, why didn’t she come do it herself, then?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. She’s a bit nervous to do it herself and wants to have a sit-down, over tea or something.”

“I don’t fancy tea, dear.”

“Or like…lemonade or something.”

“Lemonade sounds delightful.”

“I thought you didn’t like sweet things?”

“I can make an exception.”

Charlie took a deep breath. “So anyway, I came here to talk to you about this because there are some things you _need_ to understand.”

“And what might those be, my dear?”

“Right. So as you know, Eden’s very…anxious. I know she wants this to happen, it _was_ her idea after all, but seriously—I need you to be patient and let her talk _when she’s ready to_. Got it?”

“Oh, but it’s no fun talking to a brick wall!”

“ _Alastor_.”

“My apologies, dear. What else is there to know?”

“Not only do I need you to be patient but I also need you to be gentle with her. I know it’s your _thing_ to be obnoxious as hell but for the love of Satan, please take It down like. Five notches.”

“I shall do my best!”

“And last but not least— _Do. Not. Touch her_. Not without asking, anyway. We’ve been working on that with you and everyone but you haven’t been doing great with it.”

“Ah, but I just can’t help myself sometimes!”

“You’ve gotta stop. Remember last time you tried to touch her?”

Alastor winced at the memory of being smacked silly.

“…Fair enough. You know, I must admit that my approach to breaking Eden out of that little shell of hers has been a bit extreme. Perhaps I could afford to be gentler with her.”

“Ya think?” Charlie threw her hands out. Then, she stood up. “You’ve made the least progress out of everyone here—don’t laugh at me,” she remarked as Alastor chuckled at her statement, “This is serious. You’re not making progress and that _seriously_ worries me. May I remind you of what you’re ultimately working to earn back?”

Alastor thought for a while, and Charlie got up to leave.

“What might that be, my dear?”

Charlie stopped dead in her tracks and turned over her shoulder. Two words is all it took:

“Your mother.”

Alastor’s eye twitched in response. He had nothing to add.

“So, tomorrow? Noon? Sound good?”

“Of course, m’dear.”

\--

Alastor didn’t want Charlie’s words to affect him, but for once, they struck a chord. Granted, it was a tiny chord, but still—Alastor loved his mother, and Charlie knew that. It was a secret she kept between them and never let anyone know. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Charlie was right.

If he _ever_ wanted to see his mother again, he had to start changing his ways now.

But Eden was turning into his little project, and tomorrow would be the day he could _finally_ start running with it. She was the perfect candidate to become his little assistant, if only he could pull a few words out of her.

He just had to use his charm and sweet-talk his way into her mind. She seemed innocent enough, so the thought of corrupting her brought him the type of thrill he had been so desperately craving.

But his usual clothes wouldn’t do. Oh, no.

He pulled out his new suit—pristine, never worn, but slightly wrinkled. He had to iron it. No sense in looking untidy around the little damsel for this important meeting. If this plan was going to work, then every detail counted.

For a second, Alastor thought about the possibility of Eden, too, dressing nicely for this little occasion, and he felt his cheeks run hot. _Oh, no. No, no. That’s wacky nonsense,_ he thought, brushing the thought off as nothing more. He finished ironing his suit, then hung it up where he could see it.

This, he decided, was going to be _very_ entertaining.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden finally speaks to Alastor.
> 
> And...it's a heckin' TIME.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which I go into far too much detail about Alastor's hoofprints because they baffle me on a daily basis.

Eden spent all morning making sure that her look was flawless. Not a hair was out of place, her legs were freshly shaved (just in case), and her dress was spotless.

She liked how she looked, but went to Charlie and Vaggie’s room to get a second opinion. Charlie felt that it needed just a little extra _oomph_ since the dress was a bit plain. She searched through her jewelry box, then pulled out a silver chain necklace with a little black rosebud charm and put it around Eden’s neck. “It’s not much, but it adds a little something,” she said.

Eden looked in the mirror and smiled at herself nervously. Vaggie, who was in the shower, could be heard signing along to 80s synthpop, though her voice was distorted by the running water and the walls between her and the other two girls.

“Are you nervous?” asked Charlie.

“A little bit but…I’ll be okay.”

“Be brave, Eden. Not just for me, not just for Vaggie or Angel.” Charlie put a hand on Eden’s shoulder. Eden looked up at Charlie, who was smiling warmly at her.

“Be brave for yourself. Even if all you can say is ‘hi’, that’s still huge.”

Charlie was right. Eden had dealt with this throughout her life, and had gone through so much therapy for this. She had begun to learn so many calming techniques for situations like this, and it was helping her make friends that lasted.

Yet, as the event got closer, more alarm bells went off in Eden’s head.

The way Charlie had announced to her the previous evening that Alastor had accepted her invitation seemed off-putting. Alastor, from how Charlie described him, was strangely calm about the whole thing. In fact, at dinner, he actually treated her normally. No weird backhanded comments, no boisterousness, nothing. It wasn’t like him.

But Eden wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and finally let him get through to her. She wanted to give him a chance. Charlie and Vaggie would be watching, and she knew as well as he did that if he tried anything, they’d both be down there kicking his ass in no time.

She hoped this would be normal and nice.

\--

Alastor came down to the courtyard early. He was anxious about this. Getting Eden to talk to him was something he’d been trying to do since day one. Of course, she didn’t know about his plan and he didn’t at all intend to tell her what he was trying to do. He did everything he could to keep himself from getting too antsy—whistling a song, bouncing his leg (and getting distracted by the loud click of the heel of his shoe as it repeatedly hit the pavement below), _anything_ to make time go by a little faster.

Then, she appeared. Eden shyly approached the small table and took a seat. Her soft, closed smile faded and she looked down at her lap.

Alastor knew that if he wanted his plan to work, he had to do things exactly how Charlie had requested.

Meanwhile, Eden’s heart pounded in her chest, her muscles tense. Her deep blue hair had fallen and partially covered her face. The silence between the two at first was incredibly awkward. Of course, Alastor had to be the one to break the silence. “Hello, my dear!” he said cheerfully, attempting to control his volume.

“Hi,” Eden whispered softly. Alastor could barely make out what she said, but he understood. He could already tell that this was going to be trickier than he thought. Eden could feel the panic attack building itself up inside of her already.

Alastor leaned on the table and rested his chin in his hands. “So, how is my darling little one doing on this beautiful afternoon?”

“Okay,” Eden responded.

“Ah, well, perhaps I could do a little something to help you feel more than okay!” Alastor got up and approached her, but then realized that Eden had burst into tears. Charlie hadn’t prepared him for this.

Eden tried to control her sobs, but they were out of control. She looked up to where she could barely make out Charlie and Vaggie’s forms through a big window and waved Charlie down. Alastor kept his distance, panicking himself over how he was supposed to handle this. In this situation with any other demon, he would’ve mocked the crying, telling her to just smile.

_Why couldn’t he do it this time?!_

Charlie appeared behind a hedge and summoned Eden over to her. Once out of Alastor’s line of sight, Eden hugged Charlie close, soaking in her warmth. “I can’t do it,” Eden sobbed. Charlie rubbed Eden’s back and let her cry into her shirt. Deep in the back of her mind, Charlie knew that this was going to happen.

Charlie led Eden over to the stairs, then sat her down, taking a seat next to her. “Eden,” she said reassuringly, “You need to do this. Remember what I said earlier?”

“Be brave.”

“Yes. Be brave. You _can_ do this. I know Alastor’s…a lot, but I promise he’s not as bad as he makes himself seem. He’s only scary to you because you _let_ him be scary to you. At most, he’s honestly just a big goofball.”

_He’s only scary to you because you let him be scary to you_.

Eden thought about this line, long and hard. Her crying had subsided by now, but she wasn’t ready to go back to Alastor.

So, Charlie brought him over instead and supervised for a moment. Alastor crouched down in front of Eden and asked, “Is it alright if I hold your hands, darling?”

After this, Charlie quietly left, thinking that if she made Eden think she was still there, she’d speak. As she walked up the stairs, she gave Alastor a thumbs up.

“Yes,” Eden whispered, a stray tear rolling down her face. She wiped it away, then nervously allowed Alastor to take her hands in his.

“Are you afraid of me?”

Eden nodded.

“Is it because of this?” Alastor gently stroked Eden’s right arm right where her bandages covered up the wounds he’d given her last week. The fruity taste of her flesh still lingered in his mouth. Disgusting.

“Yes.”

“I’ll tell you what, doll. I have no intentions to harm you like that again. I have pondered my ways since that incident and I believe it is best that I actively avoid harming you again.”

“Thanks.”

Alastor looked around the courtyard momentarily, thinking of something to ask. He then remembered his plan. _You have to stick to the plan, Alastor!_

“So, my dear. I have heard that you positively _love_ dancing.”

“Yeah,” Eden perked up at Alastor’s sentiment.

“Ballet dancing, yes?”

“Yes!”

“Well, dear,” Alastor stood up, took off his jacket, and offered his hand to Eden. “Would you like to dance with me?”

“I guess so,” Eden shrugged.

Success.

Eden hesitantly took Alastor’s hand and stood up. He lead her further away, where there was more room, placing his jacket on the table when they passed it. “Darling, have you ever waltzed before?”

“No.”

“It is quite similar to ballet from what I understand. You’ll enjoy it. Follow my lead, dear.”

Alastor took Eden’s other hand and pulled her in to face him. She looked up at him. For once, his smile seemed soft and genuine. She could’ve melted right there and then.

Soft piano music played from an unknown source.

“Where’s that coming from?” Eden asked.

“Don’t ask questions dear. Just stay with me.”

Alastor repositioned his hands, leaving one hand holding Eden’s left hand and the other sneaking around to her upper back to guide her. Eden instinctively attempted to put her free hand on Alastor’s shoulder, but he was just too tall—easily about seven feet, towering over her five-foot-five frame.

 _Maybe I should’ve worn those heels…_ she thought.

Alastor chuckled. “No, no, sweetheart. If you can’t reach, just put your hand here,” he said, picking up her hand and placing it around his waist. Then, the dance began. Eden mimed Alastor’s steps wonderfully, and soon the dance became second nature to her. She felt at peace. Her muscles relaxed. At the end of the dance, Alastor twirled her around, let go, and bowed. Eden felt like there was a million butterflies in her stomach. _Oh fuck, he’s cute,_ she realized.

Then, a jazzier and more upbeat song began to play. “Now for some swing!” Alastor said as he grabbed Eden’s hands again and guided her through an energetic swing dance, complete with plenty of lifts and twirls, that left the two of them gasping for air by the end. Alastor, though, could still go for more.

So he did.

Finally, after two more dances, both agreed it was time to stop and rest. A new song came on and, while Alastor wasn’t paying attention, Eden did a few ballet steps to the music. She finished with a pirouette and posed. Then she heard clapping. She turned around and Alastor was applauding her.

Was he blushing? He was definitely blushing.

“Beautiful, darling! Just beautiful.”

Then, Eden noticed Alastor’s bobtail.

It was hard to miss. It was bright red and dark brown, just like his hair, and it was fluffy. It was furiously wagging back and forth, the way a dog’s does when it’s excited.

Eden pointed to Alastor’s tail and squealed. “Oh my goodness! Your tail is _so cute!_ ” she cried. Alastor looked down at the appendage and chuckled, but on the inside, he knew he’d been caught.

That thing didn’t wag like that over just anyone.

“Ah, I forget that I have that silly thing sometimes,” Alastor chuckled, embarrassed. He _hated_ when everyone referred to his fluffy bits as being _cute_. His ears, his tail (which he rarely showed for that precise reason—Charlie would’ve had an absolute _meltdown_ if she knew he had a fluffy tail hidden underneath his coat), even his shoes—all of which he’d added hoof prints to the soles, first by affixing small metal plates to the very tip and the edge of the heel, then painting the rest of the way down. Now, whenever he entered a room, it ensured he’d have plenty of attention on him.

Alastor didn’t fuck around.

He realized at that moment that he’d been staring at Eden for an awkward amount of time, and how hot his cheeks felt, and the way she was innocently swaying back and forth waiting for him to say something else. He had to admit to himself, she really did look quite pretty today. And the smile that she’d acquired since they begun dancing, despite her still not showing her teeth, only made her prettier.

Alastor smacked himself—a reminder of what his plan had been. Yet he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of genuine…something. He didn’t know what he was feeling besides…something repulsive. Disgusting. _Sickening_.

Eden was sweet. _Very_ sweet.

He hated sweet things, but he didn’t hate her. She had an heir of kindness to her—a kind of soft, gentle nature, which was extremely rare in Hell.

Extremely corruptible, but a voice in the back of Alastor’s head was telling him not to proceed with his plan. He wasn’t even trying to corrupt her anymore. He genuinely wanted to get to know the little doe and treat her well. Someone, somewhere had hurt her deeply, and that genuinely bothered him. Whoever had caused her harm, he wanted to make them pay. Sure, he was a serial killer and loved to mess with others, but his mother had raised him to be a gentleman—and a true gentleman always treated his woman like royalty.

Maybe after he’d gotten to know Eden more, he’d be able to carry out his plan as intended. After all, this was only the first day.

“Alastor?”

“Sorry, my dear! I was just thinking about something!”

Eden approached Alastor innocently, her hands behind her back, the gentle smile never leaving her face. “What’re you thinking about?”

_How adorable your voice is, how precious you are—_

“Oh. Nothing important.”

Eden tilted her head in confusion. Her eyes widened curiously. Alastor knew he was in for it now.

“You sure about that?”

Alastor opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t formulate the right string of words to tell her what was on his mind. And, truthfully, he didn’t want her to know.

“It’s nothing to worry about. Shall we go inside, sweetheart? It’s a _scorcher_ out here.”

Eden’s heart almost exploded when Alastor called her “sweetheart.” That felt special to her.

Alastor offered his arm to Eden, prompting her to link arms with him. She looked up at the deer and grabbed his jacket for him as they walked past the table again.

“Why thank you, dear.”

“Are we good now?” Eden teased.

“Dear, I am very glad that you’ve finally opened up to me! You’re pretty swell, if I do say so myself.”

Eden hugged Alastor’s arm briefly, nuzzling it before backing away slightly, letting go of his arm and returning to her usual nervous state. They stopped walking.

“Was that okay?” she asked, her voice level becoming more hushed once again.

“Quite fine, darling. I believe that there were no ill intentions with that little gesture. Dare I say, that was quite sweet of you.”

“Oh…okay,” Eden whispered. “S-s-sorry.”

“My goodness! You really are a shy little thing, sweetheart.” Alastor placed a finger under her chin and raised her face so that she could see him.

“We’ll just have to work on that, won’t we?”

Alastor and Eden linked arms and headed back inside. Upon entering the hotel again, Charlie spotted them and squealed with delight. She was proud of both Eden and Alastor—Eden for facing her fear head-on and Alastor for behaving himself and being so gentle with Eden.

That evening, Alastor spent hours in a restless state, trying to figure out what was going on with his mind. Something wasn’t quite right and it was eating him up. His plan just…didn’t seem appealing anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor finds out what's the matter with him, and Eden gets educated on how demons work (according to the author). 
> 
> Featuring some fourth-wall breaking by Angel Dust and a cameo from Rosie!

Without a doubt, Eden had fallen head over heels for Alastor. She was admittedly confused by her feelings. Hadn’t she been afraid of the Radio Demon just a few days before? Hadn’t he frightened her not so long ago? Did he not, only eight days earlier, bite her arm in a possible attempt to kill her just for slapping him? It just didn’t make sense.

Now, seeing him was the highlight of her day. Over the next few days, she had begun to put a little extra effort into her appearance, making herself look just a little prettier for Alastor to see. She really wasn’t sure if he’d noticed, but his demeanor toward her changed. If he spotted her in the lobby, he’d sit next to her and chat her up. She still faced the problem of being hushed around him despite having used her full voice not too long before. By the end of all of this, he even reluctantly accepted short hugs from Eden.

Alastor had been undergoing some changes of his own. No matter how many times he reminded himself of his plan, he couldn’t stop blushing at the mere thought of Eden’s face. He couldn’t stop thinking about how kind she had been—even the gesture of her returning his jacket to him sent him over the edge. For someone he’d hurt multiple times, both mentally and physically, she was awfully forgiving. How in the nine circles had she ended up here?!

And, oh, her voice. Her adorable little voice. Alastor, though he’d mostly heard her whisper to him, could wax poetic over her voice. Something about it made him want to put her in his pocket and keep her safe. Even her shyness could’ve killed him on the spot. He didn’t yet know about the laundry list of anxiety disorders she had. All he knew was that Eden was painfully _, painfully_ shy—and that made her more endearing to him.

Whatever he was feeling right now made him nauseous. He knew this of himself: it wasn’t like him to feel the need to protect a being like Eden. Eden was utterly defenseless, and any other creature of that kind of demeanor would’ve either been ignored or eaten by him. He wasn’t soft, no. Not at all. Gentle? Never. Sweet? He didn’t think so.

But Eden was starting to see that in him.

Alastor had paid no mind to what he looked like one day while observing Eden sharing photographs on that strange little rectangle of hers with Vaggie and Charlie. Angel, sipping a martini, had noticed the deer’s strange disposition. Flushed, ears pressed against his head—the guy was _not_ acting like himself, and Angel noticed.

“Geez, Al. If this were a cartoon, you’d have a buncha’ little hearts floating above your head right now. What’s the deal, anyway? I thought you couldn’t _feel_ love.”

Alastor quickly got his act together and sat up, becoming more _normal_ -looking.

“I am not in _love_. That’s baloney!”

“You sure about that?” Angel laughed. Alastor would’ve strangled the spider right there and then if he didn’t have the self-control he did in that moment.

He also feared the lewd joke that would come out of Angel’s mouth.

Eden flagged Angel over, gesturing to come over to look at something on her phone. Then, it happened.

“Alastor! You, too!” The sound of Eden saying his name made his heart just about burst.

_This woman is going to kill me_ , Alastor thought, hesitating before approaching the couch where everyone else was sitting. Eden opened a spot for Alastor to sit, but was surprised when he picked her up and sat him in his lap, supporting her by wrapping his hands loosely around her waist. _He was so warm_.

“I was just going to show everyone the video from when I danced the Firebird,” she said. “This is all so special to me.”

Eden pressed “play” and appeared on the screen in a bright red tutu, decorated ornately with beads and feathers. She barely looked like she did now besides her petite frame. Then, the music began to play, and Eden’s dance began.

Alastor tried desperately to hide how flustered he became from watching Eden dance. He really didn’t need anyone seeing him this way. Yet he didn’t want to leave the room. He wanted to watch Eden dance her solo forever. The way she moved so lightly and freely across the stage, how sweet she looked. She jumped and turned so weightlessly, so effortlessly. She looked _happy_.

A few minutes later, the screen faded to black and the video ended.

“Geez, kid. If I tried that, I’d fall flat on my face!” Angel remarked.

In the meantime, Charlie had noticed Alastor’s blushed face. “Are…are you okay, Al?” she asked. Now, all of the attention was on him, and in the worst way. Everyone in the room was looking right at him.

“May I speak to you privately for a moment, Charlie?”

\--

Charlie and Alastor went outside in the back and sat on the stairs. “Seriously, what has gotten into you?” Charlie asked. She was genuinely concerned for Alastor. He _never_ acted this way. Even sitting Eden on his lap was out of character for him.

“My dear, I do not understand what is wrong with me. Since that little _rendez-vous_ with Eden last week, I have felt something…odd. A tickling feeling in my stomach. A pounding feeling in my chest. I cannot seem to get her out of my thoughts. It’s like a plague to me. Am I dying?”

“Alastor!” Charlie’s face lit up, then she smirked slyly. “I know exactly what’s going on.”

“Oh, please, just tell me what my sickness is so that I can be cured of it.”

“You’re in love, Alastor.”

“Hmm, no. Couldn’t be. I have never loved anyone besides my own mother. And I can assure you, I do not feel the same way about Eden as I did my mother.”

“Al. Listen. The way you love your mother is so much different than being in love with someone. I can’t exactly explain it, but you’ll figure it out for yourself.”

“So I’m not ill, then?”

“I’d say you’re a little _lovesick_ , but…no, you’re fine. And, don’t quote me on this, but I think the feeling might be mutual…”

“Do you suppose that Eden could possibly be…in love with me, too? Me? Alastor, the Radio Demon? One of the most powerful, terrible, awful demons in all of the Underworld? That’s wacky nonsense.”

“It’s possible that she’s sparking something in you that’s changing your thinking. You aren’t seeing her as prey anymore.”

“I never planned on preying on the little damsel!”

“Maybe not, but you certainly didn’t have good intentions with her before this. You’re not exactly that good at hiding things.”

“Perhaps you’re correct, Charlie. Perhaps she has changed me somewhat. But…where do I go from here?”

“Well, I’d say you need to take her out on a date.”

“A…date? Oh, goodness. Haven’t gone on one of those in _decades_ , my dear.”

“Don’t worry, I can help you out…”

\--

There was another issue that Charlie had to take care of, though.

Eden’s demonic abilities were starting to develop, and while they were still relatively harmless, they were bad news. Eden, herself, didn’t see a whole lot of danger with what she could do thus far—apples? Pretty lame, honestly. Yes, she could leave poison apples for those who she felt deserved it. Yes, that was bad. She’d done it once, and she wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if she needed to.

The issue, though, was Eden’s powers being rooted in manipulation. Charlie had no doubt in her mind that Eden was as nice as she portrayed herself. Plus, what she needed to talk to Eden about easily made itself appear as a protective shield—and she most certainly had control over it.

But had she noticed it?

One text later, Eden met Charlie in the back lounge. She approached the couch and took a seat.

“So…” Charlie began, “I see that your demonic abilities are starting to come through.”

“Huh?” Eden replied, confused. “How did you know—”

“Eden? I can see it.”

“See what?”

“You have a bright green glow around your body right now. And when you were at your little thing with Alastor the other day, it was red. You are aware of that, right?”

“I mean…I knew about it. I can’t lie about that. I knew I could change the color of the glow around my body, but does it mean anything?”

“It does. I won’t go into details right now, but you have an aura. Only some demons can see it, usually whoever possesses it and hellborn demons with very strong powers, including me. I don’t think Alastor can see it, but he can sense it. And…it worries me that you have this ability.”

“Why? Surely it can’t be that bad.”

“Well, it’s a sign that you’re a lot more powerful than you or anyone who knows you realizes. You have the power to sway someone just by changing your aura. It’s manipulation, Eden. Which…I guess that’s not _always_ a bad thing, but it can be.”

“But I haven’t had a transformation yet. I don’t even know what species I am.”

“Hmm… if I were to guess based on your appearance and your personality, you’re a gazelle. Similar to a goat, but not _as_ powerful. You still could do some serious damage, though. I’m not surprised that you don’t have horns, though.”

“Why not?”

“A lot of times, demons that have personalities like you and I do only actually have horns in their full demon form. That makes us way more dangerous than most, and it’s not common for a mortal soul to be like that. You and Alastor have something in common there, though—having demon forms that are as powerful as they are. And I’ll let you in on a little secret- deer and gazelles tend to get along really well. There’s a thing that I’ve heard their relationship to be like…it’s like…a circle…black and white…”

“A yin-yang?”

“Yes! That thing. I was talking to Vaggie last night and she mentioned it to me. You two kind of need each other. Even as friends, there’s harmony between you two.”

“So like…how in a song, there’s the melody and the harmony, and even though they are written and sound different, when played together, they make the song better.”

“Exactly! Now you’re speaking my language. But anyway, what I’m trying to say is, you need to be careful with when and how you use your auras. Using them could seriously impact redemption for you.”

Redemption.

Right, that was a thing.

Charlie got up.

“In any case, I think I have some work for you to finish up. Come with me.”

\--

Alastor, in the meantime, furiously penned a letter to a good friend of his.

_My dearest Rosie,_

_It has been a while since I have written you, or paid you a visit for that matter. I believe that a lunch meeting is in order very soon. My apologies—I have been quite busy!_

_I have news. I am in love! It is truly a terrible feeling, this love thing. Absolutely disgusting! But Rosie, I cannot help it, what with such a woman being around all the time. A pretty damsel who has treated me with a strange gentleness that I am not very accustomed to. Oh, how lovely she is. I had plans to corrupt her and make her my assistant, however, that seems to not be the case any longer._

_Anything you may have that could cure me of this disease, send it my way. In the meantime, I have a date to prepare for._

_Alastor, Radio Demon, signing off._

Alastor folded the paper neatly and placed it in an envelope. Then, he used his magic to send it to Rosie. Within minutes, he had a reply.

_My dearest Alastor,_

_I have been missing you greatly. It is so lonely around here without Franklin. Oh, what a pity! I hope to see you soon._

_I regret to inform you that I have no such cure for lovesickness. But, as much as you are uncomfortable, you may learn to see this as a positive thing for you. I am sure that this woman will bring you great joy and comfort, the kind any soul needs._

_We shall make lunch plans soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Rosie_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! So some things in this chapter need explaining:  
> -Read the synopsis for the Firebird ballet. Some of the story up to this point may or may not have been inspired by that ballet ;)  
> -No, Eden's aura had not been mentioned until this point. There's a reason for that.   
> -My headcanon for Rosie is that she is kind of a witchy sort of character, pretty neutral (but motherly), and her emporium is kind of like an apothecary of sorts.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden and Alastor have a fancy date night at the hotel!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SORRY this chapter is SUPER long but...actually I'm not. Enjoy!

Eden couldn’t get Alastor out of her head that night. As she fell asleep, all she could think about was the day that she would wake up next to him. Her dreams that night were surprisingly pleasant, dreaming of being showered with sweet kisses and cuddles. If only it would be reality.

Eden feared that Alastor wouldn’t like her all that much, despite what Charlie had told her. She was thinking about this at breakfast the next morning—what if Alastor didn’t like her back? The reality hit her like a train. He probably _didn’t_ like her back. She still sat next to him the next day, and he noticed.

 _Darling?_ His voice said inside her head. Apparently, he could communicate without speaking, too. Could she?

_Are you alright?_

Try as she might, she couldn’t get through to him. She heard her words in her own head, but he didn’t hear a thing. She got his attention by poking his arm and mouthed, “Yeah.”

 _Well, you’re looking quite forlorn. Smile, dear! There is a surprise waiting for you in your room after you finish eating_.

Eden hurriedly finished her meal and excused herself from the table. She went to her room and found the most wonderful sight.

Laid out on her bed was a black dress with a satin bodice and tulle skirt. Along the edge of the skirt were big embroidered red roses. To match, the sender had left both a pair of red velvet flats that had satin ribbons that tied up around the ankle, and a pair of red satin gloves. In a box was a pretty red crystal necklace and earrings to match. In addition to this, a big bouquet of red roses had been left along with a note. Handwritten in neat cursive writing, the note said:

_Eden,_

_I would like to extend my formal invitation for you to join me for a dinner date tomorrow at 7:00 PM. Please wear what I have laid out for you._

_Alastor_

Eden could’ve cried at what she just read. Alastor? A date?! Unbelievable. She went to her desk and pulled out her notepad and a bright pink pen and wrote a response with urgency.

_Alastor._

_I will see you tomorrow._

_Eden_

_PS- This is a rose I made, not one of yours. Don’t worry. The bouquet is beautiful, by the way._

After finishing her, note, Eden materialized a red rose with a bit of gold on the edges of the petals. She found a roll of tape in her desk, then hastily went up to Alastor’s room to deliver her note and flower. She taped them to his door, knocked, then sprinted down the hall and into the stairwell. She’d just walk down to the 12th floor and take the elevator from there.

Tomorrow evening couldn’t come any sooner.

\--

Eden couldn’t wait to announce the news to her friends.

Charlie was so, so happy that Alastor had asked her out, and Angel was more stunned than anything, though he seemed happy enough for both of them. Vaggie, on the other hand, didn’t seem all that thrilled about this. After lunch, she pulled Eden aside to explain to her the situation.

“Alastor may be a gentleman, but he’s also not always the most truthful.”

“He seemed excited enough,” Eden shrugged.

“He can fake his excitedness but…Eden, I’m nervous about this. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“He won’t hurt me, Vaggie. Really. I’m going to give him a chance. Maybe he’s not all that bad!”

“I’m really not sure about this.”

“Vaggie.”

“But…” Vaggie sighed, accepting defeat, “I also can’t stop you from giving him a chance either. I admire that. I couldn’t do it. But just know, if he tries _anything_ with you, I won’t hesitate to break his scrawny ass in half.”

\--

Charlie had spent the better part of two hours wrestling all of Eden’s hair into an elegant updo. By the end of it all, she’d used at least 100 bobby pins and nearly an entire can of hairspray. The window in her bedroom had to be opened to prevent everyone from getting high off of hairspray fumes, despite Angel’s complaints. Six braids in total, wrapped around Eden’s head with a few strands left loose and curled. Charlie finished off the hairdo by placing three rosette hair pins at the back of Eden’s head.

With that, she had to go check on Alastor and make sure he was doing okay. In the meantime, Angel got to work on Eden’s makeup while Vaggie did her own hair at the vanity. “I told Charlie to get dressed before she left,” she said, noting that Charlie had left with her shorts and t-shirt still on and her makeup and hair completely done. Although this was Eden and Alastor’s date, Vaggie and Charlie had arranged a bit of a date of their own, though they mainly wanted to keep tabs on what was happening below them.

Angel had to think about how he was actually doing Eden’s makeup since, while he did want to enhance her features, he had to remember that this wasn’t a drag show. He kept her eyes neutral and went for a bright red lipstick that matched her dress perfectly. By the time her face was done, Vaggie had finished her own hair and was putting her dress on. Her and Charlie had always joked about wearing matching outfits on a date one day, and today was the day to do it. Vaggie wore a strapless light purple gown, and Charlie’s was bright red.

Eden went over to the mirror to make sure she looked okay. “Boy, if Smiles doesn’t lose his shit over ya tonight, then he’s missing out,” Angel said as he snapped a picture of himself. He, too, had dressed up a bit for this occasion, though he would be cooking for half the night and, admittedly, avoided wearing his best clothes for this.

Marinara sauce was never on anyone’s side.

He gave Eden and Vaggie some space to do whatever last-minute touch-ups they needed to do and waited in the hallway.

Vaggie asked Eden if she could pin back her hair for her. She felt confident to fully show her eye patch for once.

“What happened to your eye?” Eden asked.

“I…I’m not ready to talk about that right now. It’s not something I like bringing up.”

“Oh. I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay. Shit happens down here. You fight a lot of battles, but…it’s whatever.”

Dark.

“You ready?”

“Yup!”

\--

Alastor was nervous.

This was his first date since 1923. He hadn’t thought about dating since then. It just wasn’t his thing. But the way Eden made him feel, he had to get to know her more. He just had to.

He showed up early and learned into his palm, gazing out into the courtyard, his leg bouncing. Lost in thought, he was startled by the arrival of another being.

“Hi, Alastor,” Eden greeted shyly, her cheeks turning pink as he turned around. Alastor just about lost it when he saw Eden all dressed up in the outfit he’d picked out for her. He stood up and took her hand, pressing a sweet kiss to her knuckles. “Good evening, my dear.”

Alastor led Eden to the other chair and sat her down. He returned to his seat and admired her from just a few feet away. Eden looked away from him, but she was smiling.

“Bashful, are we?” he asked. “Look at me, darling.”

Eden turned her face toward Alastor, blushing at him. Alastor perked up when he saw Eden’s face.

“You look _very_ pretty tonight, sweetheart.” 

Eden’s face became even redder. “Thanks,” she mumbled, completely unable to form a coherent sentence. Undoubtedly, if she was able to say more words, she would wax poetic over how good Alastor looked that night. The deer somehow figured out how much Eden liked velvet and dressed accordingly—his suit jacket was made of a rich red velvet. Actually, his entire outfit matched Eden’s perfectly. He was definitely one to coordinate his outfits with his partner’s.

The two exchanged lovestruck stares at each other for several minutes, both silently admiring one another and essentially flirting through gazes alone. Alastor snaked his hands across the table to hold Eden’s, realizing how tiny they were in comparison. He didn’t mind, though. They felt cold, so surely his would warm them up, right?

“Well, I suppose we should talk now,” Alastor sighed, trying to destroy the drunk feeling that was building up in his body. He rubbed his thumbs over Eden’s knuckles, feeling the soft satin of her gloves glide underneath his own. He couldn’t wait to feel what her hands actually felt like. Buttery-soft, he imagined.

“Yeah,” Eden giggled. “So uh…I take it you’ve been here a long time?” Eden asked, stunning herself by how long her sentence was.

“Ahh, yes. Eighty-six years, almost.”

“Wow. So…1933?”

“Mathematics must be your strong point, dear. Yes.”

“I guess. I…I’ve only been here for a…short time. I’ve lost track by now.”

“What’d you do, if you don’t mind me asking?” Alastor let go of Eden’s hands. He leaned his chin into his own hands, listening intently for what awful thing Eden must’ve done to get down to Hell.

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” Eden’s smile faded.

Alastor laughed slightly, amused by Eden’s refusal to even talk about her sins. “You don’t strike me as the sinful type, dear. Well, perhaps I could see you partaking in witchcraft. I, myself, dabbled in voodoo while I was alive.”

“So that was your sin, then?”

“Not all of it, my dear. There are some terrible, awful humans that the world could’ve done without. So, I took it upon myself to rid the world of them—to make them suffer for being so awful.”

“Why am I not surprised that you killed people?”

“I feel no remorse for what I have done. Hell became a playground for me—no one is ever truly safe down here.”

“So…why’d you spare me then? And why have you spared everyone here?”

“Dear, you’re a special case. You’re too sweet. I don’t like eating sweet things.”

Eden’s face turned red all over again.

“As for everyone else, well… two are my own helpers, one is just fun to play tricks on, and one…” Alastor lowered his voice to a whisper, “One might serve my own head to me on a platter if I dared to hurt anyone.”

“What about…Angel?”

“Dear, bad choices need not make a man a bad person, even though his lewd jokes are getting quite old.”

“I see. But…if I did ever do anything that upset you…would you hurt me?”

“I have made a promise to myself to never inflict harm on you ever again. But I also…I should say that it has been many, many years since I’ve felt anything really at all. So you aren’t very likely to upset me.”

“Phew.”

That certainly was something.

Eden changed the topic, realizing that now was not the time to get so deep. She asked Alastor about his human life—where he lived, what he did growing up. She was not surprised at all to learn he was a radio host, but was surprised that he’d never been an actor. He was always so animated and expressive, even though he only had one true facial expression. The man _never_ frowned, and when Eden asked, Alastor simply said it completes him.

It _completes_ him. How?

Eden also learned that Alastor, due to growing up near the ocean, also spent many a summer at the beach like she used to. His mother and grandmother would take him as a little boy, but he was far more interested in finding washed-up creatures in the sand than swimming. It was there that he took a fascination with not only animal anatomy, but human anatomy as well.

“But that lead you to become… a murderer?”

“Well, I could’ve become a doctor, but they didn’t like my type in the field back then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dear, I’m sure you’re aware of how things were in the South a long time ago.”

“Like…segregation?”

“Exactly, my dear. Not that being a doctor particularly interested me. I was far more interested in music and sending the scum of the Earth where they belong. Well, you see how the latter turned out, but it was _so much fun_.”

“I mean…at least they were awful people.”

“Still, when it came time to choose a career, I had many, many ideas. Musician? Sure. I would consider myself a talented musician. I can sing, I can play many instruments. An actor? There were very few roles available for men of color, and Vaudeville did not appeal to me at all. But listen, doll. Being a radio host was _great_. Nobody sees you when you’re on the radio. Nobody knows what you look like. You mask your voice. I could get away with so, so much.”

“Well, that does make sense to me. I can say that…a lot of what you just told me no longer applies to modern times. But…does that also mean that your voice right now isn’t your real voice?”

“Dear,” Alastor chuckled, “Some things are better kept under wraps.”

“So _now_ do you understand why I don’t talk to many people?”

Alastor stopped talking for a moment, thinking about his memory of the past several weeks. Suddenly, it made sense.

“I believe I understand now. It is an honor to get to know you at this level, dear.”

It was then that Husk unenthusiastically brought out a bottle of rosé and two glasses, giving Alastor a threatening glance. Alastor smirked back, knowing that his dear Husker had nothing on him. Alastor returned his attention to the table, popping the cork out of the bottle and pouring both him and Eden a glass. Eden quietly thanked Alastor, then took a sip. Alastor watched her, then took a sip himself.

“It’s really good,” Eden remarked. She looked at the bottle. “Ma…g…ne…” she read on the bottle.

“Ah, my dear. It’s pronounced like _Main_. That bottle probably came from dear Charlie’s family winery.”

“Oh wow.”

“The Royal Family owns many things, including a little fun fair of sorts. Perhaps one day you and I could stop by.”

Eden was in awe. She knew Charlie was royalty, but it never occurred to her how _wealthy_ her family was due to Charlie’s humbleness. Charlie wasn’t one to wave her money around, although when she did, it was usually used for good deeds—such as buying Eden an entire new wardrobe.

She _was_ half-angel, after all.

A short time later, Niffty arrived with a basket of garlic bread that was almost as big as she was. She lifted it onto the table and smiled wide at the couple, then sighed. “Ahh, to be young and in love again…”

Niffty hopped off and Alastor and Eden watched, both silently sharing a chuckle before returning their attention to each other. Eden took a piece of the bread and took a bite, immediately recognizing the flavor.

“Ah!” she cried, a mouthful of bread. She finished chewing, then said, “This is the family recipe!”

“What do you mean, darling?” Alastor said, then eating his piece in one bite.

“Oh…I wasn’t supposed to…” Eden looked around, making sure Angel wasn’t within earshot. Then, she lowered her voice, just in case. “Angel’s my great-uncle. My grandpa’s brother.”

“What a strange coincidence! You must have ended up down here by association alone then, dear!” Alastor chuckled.

“Well…not exactly. But that’s probably why my eyes look like this. Oh and please— _please_ —do not say _anything_ about this to anyone, especially Angel. He…would rather no one knew.”

“Your secret is safe with me, darling.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“ _Pinky swear_?” Eden extended her left pinkie to Alastor, who was quite confused by Eden’s gesture.

“I…pinky…swear?” Alastor responded, confused by Eden’s tiny pinky finger wrapping around his.

Alastor was now under oath to keep Eden’s secret. Breaking the pinky swear was the worst thing he could do. This was _legit_.

The pair continued to conversate, finishing off the basket of garlic bread in no time, and going for a second glass of wine. It was during this part of the conversation that they discussed little things they both missed from their childhoods, namely _food_. Eden, having spent many summers on the ocean in Rhode Island, missed saltwater taffy. Her favorite memory was coming home with a big bag of it after shopping on the boardwalk with her brother and sister—especially after her grandparents gave her and her siblings some money to have fun with.

Alastor remembered fondly that, while he wasn’t the biggest fan of sweets (and still wasn’t), he missed sneaking beignets from a bakery down the road when he was a child. The shop owner was fond of him, thinking of the young Alastor as a very well-mannered young man (if only he knew who Alastor would grow up to be!), and on Thursdays, he would slip a few of the pastries into a paper bag. Alastor would stop in on his way home from school and pick them up, eating them all before dinner. He got away with it until one day, his mother saw the remnants of chocolate on the corners of his mouth and scolded him.

Eden found the story to be quite endearing. As she listened to Alastor talk, she folder her hands, leaning into them and studying Alastor’s face. Her heart soared. All she could think of was how handsome he was, and how weirdly kind he was being to her. Was this really the same Alastor she had been so afraid of? Had he really changed?

“Darling?”

Eden’s daydream was interrupted by Angel arriving with two plates of spaghetti for each of them—Eden’s without meatballs and Alastor’s with _far too many of them_. Angel set the plates down and leaned into his upper set of hands. “So, how’s it going?”

“Fantastic, Mr. Dust!” Alastor cried, tying his napkin around his neck.

“You two had better Lady and the Tramp that spaghetti.”

“Angel…we’re not there yet!” Eden laughed, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

“Aww, shucks,” Angel stood up and snapped his fingers. “Well, guess I gotta leave you two alone then. Enjoy!”

Eden placed her napkin on her lap, then began eating. She twirled the spaghetti around her fork and took dainty bites, making sure not to get any on her dress or her face. Meanwhile, Alastor began to devour his meal, looking worse than a toddler with sauce all over his face and the napkin he put around his neck. Apparently, no one had ever told him how to properly twirl his spaghetti.

Grandpa Victor would be rolling in his grave right about now.

Of course, Alastor could clean the sauce up with a snap of his fingers. And that’s exactly what he did. In one loud snap, his face and clothes were once again clean, as was his plate. Eden finished well after Alastor did, but Alastor was patient. He did wonder how Eden managed to stay so clean, but he quickly remembered that everything she did was dainty and graceful.

Something he could easily admit that he just wasn’t.

What a strange coincidence that dessert that night was beignets. Eden had never had them, but admitted that they were amazing.

“I don’t normally like sweets, but I do enjoy a beignet every now and then,” Alastor admitted. “But I don’t enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoy you, my sweetheart.”

Eden almost dropped her half-eaten beignet right onto her dress. “Alastor, I—”

“Oh, little doe. You are far too precious for words.”

Alastor got up, offering his hand to Eden. “Would you like to dance with me again, my love?”

Eden just about melted. The only thing she was able to do was nod with an awestruck look on her face. She took Alastor’s hand and he guided her over to a more open spot, a quiet piano ballad slowly filling the air. Eden let Alastor lead the dance.

A slow dance in the moonlight. As cheesy as it was, Eden ate it up. She had no idea that Alastor could be so romantic. She didn’t want the night to end. She wanted to wake up in his arms the next day. He was warm. He was surprisingly gentle.

If this really was all a dream, then she never wanted to wake up.

Hell wasn’t supposed to be like this. Hell was supposed to be full of fire and misery. Hell was supposed to be punishment for sinning in her waking life.

Why was everything going so well, then? Why was everyone in the hotel so kind to her? Why was the man who was supposedly one of the most powerful beings in the underworld currently slow dancing with her? Eden didn’t know, but she didn’t care. Redemption hadn’t even been brought up with her—after all, you can’t redeem someone who never owns up to their sins in the first place.

That was her own secret. Eden knew that, despite how everyone saw her, she wasn’t some sweet, innocent soul who had wrongly been sentenced to eternal damnation. It was too nerve-wracking, too traumatic for her to think about. She was guilty. She wasn’t a good person.

But that didn’t matter right now. Eden was on top of the world. She was still a little bit suspicious of Alastor’s intentions, but it _didn’t matter_. Alastor wanted her to feel like a princess, and she sure did. She looked up at Alastor and his smile confirmed something wonderful.

Alastor smiled all the time, regardless of his mood. Right now, though, he was glowing. He looked genuinely happy, like his entire world was right in front of him. In that moment, he needed nothing else but her.

The dance ended and Alastor pulled Eden in close, allowing her to rest her head against his chest. She basked in his breathing for a moment, feeling his chest rise and fall slowly, his hand gently rubbing her back.

“Darling, would you like to go look at the stars?”

“Sure!” Eden smiled.

Alastor grabbed Eden’s hand and led her to the wall at the side of the balcony. He helped her climb atop it, then climbed up himself. Eden crossed her legs, swinging them slightly. A cool breeze brushed by, sending a chill down Eden’s spine. “’S cold,” she slurred.

“Let’s fix that then, shall we?” Alastor said, removing his jacket and draping it around Eden’s shoulders. He then scooted closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist so that he could reach her hand. He rested his hand on top of hers, weaving his fingers between Eden’s. His other hand rested on Eden’s thigh. He leaned his head over to rest on top of hers.

They both sighed, silently admiring the night sky.

\--

Up above, Charlie and Vaggie’s date night had been going just as well, although far less romantic, and it had to end when Angel joined them since he didn’t want to just dip after having served dinner to the couple below. The girls had been leaning over a wall, talking about nonsense and watching the events unfold below them.

Vaggie, who had been staring into space momentarily, was brought back to reality when Charlie squealed, then started sobbing. “What’s wrong, hon?”

“Look!” Charlie pointed down to Alastor and Eden sitting close together on the wall, Eden wearing Alastor’s jacket. “They’re so _cute_ , I can’t handle it!”

“You know, as much as I didn’t want this to happen…” Vaggie sighed, “I have to admit, this is kind of adorable.”

Angel had migrated over to see what the matter was. Curious, he looked down to the lower balcony, then at the other two girls. He smirked. “So, how much you wanna bet they’re gonna fuck later?”

“ _Angel_ ,” the girls groaned.

“Do I need to _educate_ you about the _asexuals_ , dear?” Charlie said, mildly trying to make fun of Alastor’s voice.

“What? I’m just sayin’! I mean, look at ‘em!” Angel pointed down, “ _That_ is true love.”

“Angel. They’ve only known each other this well for a week,” Vaggie complained, crossing her arms. “I don’t think they’re _there_ yet.”

“Man, you two are no fun!”

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other and shared a quiet giggle together.

\--

After a while of sitting out on the wall and holding each other close, Eden became very, very tired. She audibly yawned, burying her face into Alastor’s shirt.

“Tired, sweetheart?” Alastor cooed, pulling Eden in even closer.

“Yeah,” Eden mumbled.

“Well, I suppose it is best that we call it a night and head inside then.”

Alastor turned around, jumping off the wall and landing on the ground with a loud _bang_. Eden followed, and he assisted her off. They linked arms and headed inside, where it was a bit warmer.

It was then that Eden wanted, very badly, to ask Alastor if she could cuddle with him. It would really complete the evening for her. Really, it would. But she didn’t know how to ask. Alastor wasn’t exactly the cuddliest of people, despite his demeanor toward Eden during the last half of the date. But she didn’t want the night to end.

Maybe he’d be willing to spend more time with her, at least? She certainly wouldn’t mind. But she just didn’t know how to ask.

After all, it wouldn’t hurt to try, right?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden and Alastor share a sweet moment together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cracks knuckles* it's fluff time. Early update because my body is currently betraying me.

Eden’s stomach tied itself up in knots as she thought about the question she wanted to ask. She knew Alastor was a very private person, and she was well prepared for the inevitable—that Alastor would deny her request, and it would hurt her (even though she would understand why). But he was _irresistible_ —especially right now, all dressed up like he was, and glowing in a way Eden never expected. The smile that painted his grey skin was genuine—soft, joyful, not a single malicious thought crossed his mind. Eden herself couldn’t help her own face—she was beaming, a light blush adorning her cheeks.

Alastor thought it was adorable.

_She_ was adorable, and unbearably sweet. Every time he looked at her, his heart fluttered in a way that he’d never felt before. Even now, in her drowsy state and still wearing his jacket (which was comically large on her), he couldn’t help but smile bigger every time he looked at her. Never in a million years did he think he’d fall in love with _anyone_ , let alone someone who clearly wouldn’t even harm a fly.

This was ruining his plan. Up until tonight, he’d wanted to corrupt Eden _so badly_ into being his assistant. Yet as the night went on, his moral side nagged at him, telling him not to continue. And his feelings grew the more he she spoke to him and smiled at him.

He couldn’t do it, no matter what he tried. Eden was _too_ sweet to him. She cared about him. _She’d broken him_. Sure, torturing her with his pranks and such had been entertaining, but that stopped being fun _weeks_ ago. She was entertaining to him in a different way. A way that, in all of his time in Hell, shocked him. Rather than corrupt her or scare her, he wanted to keep her safe from harm.

Maybe she’d finally let him into her art room and let him watch her paint.

Alastor laughed to himself at the pun— _his little picture show_ , the little gazelle demon who, quite literally, entertained the masses with her paintings. If she wasn’t entertaining with her art, she was entertaining with her movements. Dancing was something Alastor could easily admit Eden was quite good at— what she didn’t know how to do, she picked up on quickly. He was certain there’d be many more dances shared between them soon.

His precious little sweetheart.

“Alastor?” Eden said nervously, biting her bottom lip and caving her shoulders as if she was preparing for the worst. Alastor snapped out of his daze immediately.

“Yes, darling?”

“Well…I was wondering if you…if I could maybe, uh…”

“Take your time, love.”

Eden sighed. “I know you’re not the most comfortable with this yet and I…have a feeling you’re going to say ‘no’ to me anyway, but…is it okay if I sleep in your room tonight?”

Alastor figured it’d be happening sooner or later.

“Well, I suppose you can, dear.”

“I promise nothing _weird_ will happen. Nothing. You’re sure it’s okay?”

Alastor patted Eden’s head with his free hand. “You worry too much, sweetheart.”

Eden’s face flushed redder at that name. _Sweetheart_.

“Come with me, darling.”

\--

Alastor’s room was enormous.

Eden was overwhelmed by the size, but restrained herself from exploring the place. One of the most peculiar parts was a swamp on the far right end of the room. Alastor was quick to close a wall over that side of the room since, she assumed, he didn’t want the creatures that lived with him wandering on over to the couple while they were sleeping.

Alastor returned to Eden, weaving his fingers through hers on one hand and tucking a curl that had freed itself from Eden’s updo behind her ear with the other. He then gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. Eden closed her eyes and absorbed Alastor’s surprisingly docile touches, smiling sweetly at him as he did. Then, she was surprised by him picking her up and hugging her tight. She threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his tiny waist. Eden could feel his heart pounding in his chest. _He was infatuated with her_ , and she could tell.

Eden toyed with the ends of Alastor’s hair while he silently held her, swaying back and forth and lightly rubbing her back with one hand. Then, Alastor carried Eden over to his bed, laying her down, then joining her immediately after. He stared up at the ceiling. Eden looked over at him. “I had fun tonight,” she said quietly.

“As did I, darling.”

Eden yawned as exhaustion overcame her. “I forgot my pajamas in my room.”

“Not a problem, my love.” Alastor got up, then grabbed Eden’s hand and pulled her up from the bed. With a snap of his fingers, Eden was in her pajamas—the ones she’d left out on her bed to put on when the date was over, a pink satin romper and a cream-colored cardigan. Her hair was even undone and felt as if it’d been washed and dried. Alastor, too, was in his pajamas—deep red silky ones, and a pair of red and black polka-dot socks to match. Eden found the socks to be so funny for someone like Alastor. Alastor cleared all of the throw pillows off of his bed and pulled back the comforter, then took a spot sitting against the headboard. Eden joined him, sitting next to him but respecting his space.

“No, no, no, darling. Sit in front of me. Don’t face me. I want to do something.”

“Oh?”

Eden crawled over to Alastor and sat on his legs, right above his knees. “May I braid your hair?” he asked suddenly, a hairbrush appearing out of thin air.

“I mean…sure, but brushing this mane is going to take you a long time.”

“I don’t mind, dear,” Alastor manifested one of Eden’s jaw clips. Eden wanted to ask how he’d acquired it, but decided it was best not to ask. She also didn’t question how he’d figured out how she usually brushed her hair in two layers. She shifted back so that he could comfortably reach her hair.

Alastor began to run the hairbrush through Eden’s long, thick locks. The room was silent except for Alastor’s radio static providing a quiet ambiance to the room and the sound of the brush occasionally hitting a knot, which Alastor would gently tug at until it came out. He was quiet as he worked through her locks. Though Eden technically had curly hair, it was so long and so thick that it held its own. Brushing through her curls wasn’t that big of a deal now.

It took quite a long time to get through all of her hair, but Alastor wanted to make sure that not a single knot was left. “Turn around, darling, before I start braiding.”

Eden twisted around and let her hair cascade over her shoulder, framing her face elegantly. Alastor’s closed-lipped smile grew bigger, then he sighed. “ _Tu es tr_ _ès belle, mon c_ _œur._ ”

Eden blushed, then responded, “ _Merci beacoup, mon chou_.”

Alastor bit his bottom lip to prevent himself from gushing right then and there. “Alright, my dear. Turn back around.”

Eden did as Alastor asked, then felt his hands run through her locks. He picked up a section and nuzzled it with his nose, inhaling its sweet scent. “You smell delightful, dear.” Eden giggled in response.

Alastor split Eden’s hair into three sections, then carefully wove it all together, all the way down her back, then tied it off with a big black ribbon. He pushed the braid over Eden’s shoulder. “All done, my love!”

Eden turned around, then took Alastor’s hands in her own. His hands were so big that they swallowed hers, but she didn’t mind. They provided warmth to her icy-cold fingers. Though they were calloused and worn, she didn’t mind. She hadn’t seen them without gloves until this moment, but she’d never really wondered what his hands looked like.

Alastor rubbed Eden’s palms with his thumb, taking note of how velvety soft her palms were. He’d never had the chance to really _feel_ her skin before, and this was something he was taking full advantage of. Her skin was like a peach—soft and supple but _very_ delicate. No wonder he was able to break it so easily when he’d bitten her.

Eden gazed up at Alastor’s face, but her smile faded when she noticed something she hadn’t previously—a red X on the center of Alastor’s forehead. Alastor took note of Eden’s concerned look. “What’s the matter, love?”

“What’s that on your forehead?”

“This?” Alastor pushed his hair back, fully revealing the marking. “Well, I’m afraid the explanation might upset you, dear.”

“Just tell me. I want to know.”

“If you insist…this marks the spot of the final blow that killed me, dear. I was shot.”

It was in that moment that reality set in. Eden hadn’t necessarily been denying her death, but she’d also been switching between thinking this was all a dream and accepting her situation since she arrived in Hell.

This was entirely real.

She was a demon, _he_ was a demon (and one of the most wicked in Hell, mind you), and…

“I really am dead, aren’t I? And you…you died too…”

“Well, yes, darling. I thought you’d have figured that out by now.”

“Well…surely you were so suddenly taken from people that loved you, and…and…”

“Not many, dear.”

Eden’s eyes overflowed with tears, thinking about how Alastor didn’t feel loved by many people in his life. She really didn’t want to cry in front of Alastor again, but she just couldn’t control herself anymore. She leaned forward and buried her face into his chest, sobbing heavily.

To her surprise, he didn’t flinch. He adjusted her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. He wiped tears from her eyes as they spilled out. He said nothing until she stopped a few minutes later. “Oh, my little sweetheart. It’s a hard realization to have, that one, but you must realize that you’ve passed on and this is the punishment for the horrible things you’ve done in life.”

“I…suppose I have to come to terms with it one way or another.”

“Well, the good news is that we have all of eternity together now!”

Eden smiled at that suggestion. “You’re right.”

Eden stayed in her position for a while, thinking long and hard about what she had just realized. She decided that, rather than dwell on the painful truth right now, she’d deal with it later. Being upset was just going to ruin this moment.

Then she sat up, looking down at her lap and twiddling her thumbs. “So…Alastor.”

“Yes, my dear? You seem to be deep in thought. What could possibly on your mind?”

“Have you ever…cuddled…before?”

“ _Cuddled_ ,” Alastor chuckled at the thought. “I don’t believe I have.”

“Well…would it be okay if I cuddled you? I can’t help but feel like you need it.”

“I suppose it would be fine. Just tell me what you’d like me to do, dear.”

Eden sat with her back propped up against a pillow against the headboard. She gestured for Alastor to come over. “Lay your head on my shoulder. Then just…do what feels natural for you.”

Alastor cautiously shifted next to Eden, then adjusted his body so that he could rest on Eden’s shoulder. He put one arm behind her neck, and she pulled him in close. He rolled to the side; his other arm wrapped around her waist lazily. “Like this, dear?”

“Exactly like that! Gosh, you’re so warm.” Eden took one hand and brushed it up and down the arm around her waist. Forgetting about his antlers, Eden went to lean into his head, only to be poked by one. “Ouch!” she cried.

“Ah, yes. Be careful of my antlers, love.”

Not amusing.

Eden sat up a bit, then stroked Alastor’s hair. It was _incredibly_ silky, just like she’d imagined. “How’s this feel?” she asked sweetly.

“It feels very nice, dear.” Alastor basked in Eden’s saccharine touches; this was foreign to him, but he _actually liked it_.

Until Eden accidentally touched his ear.

Eden’s heart jumped out of her chest at the sudden, unexpected yelp that came from Alastor. “I’m s-so s-s-sorry!” she said shakily, grabbing the end of her hair with both hands and playing with it to calm herself. Alastor had detached himself from her.

“You must be more careful, darling. My ears are _very_ sensitive.”

“I didn’t know! I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright. But please, please watch where you touch.”

Now, Eden was curious. She smirked playfully.

“Wait…but can I touch them, just this once?” Eden batted her eyelashes innocently.

Alastor was in a predicament. He didn’t like having his ears touched all that much, but he didn’t want to say no to Eden…but he also had his boundaries.

But at the same time, Eden had been so gentle with her touches, and her facial expression was _awfully_ convincing. He sighed.

“Fine, just this once.”

Alastor returned to his position from before, and Eden welcomed him back. Her hand hesitated and hovered above his ear, his other flattened slightly. Eden lightly touched it. Alastor flinched at first, his muscles tightening, as her hand gently scratched the base. Eden loved how soft the hair was there—baby-fine and soft, just like kitten fur. Alastor’s other ear flicked a few times at the sensation, his tail audibly thumping against the sheets every so often. “Relax, honey,” Eden said, noticing how tense Alastor had become.

Alastor unclenched all of his muscles, melting as Eden scratched his ear. It really wasn’t so bad after all. Eventually, Eden retracted her hand and moved it to Alastor’s back, gently caressing it. He nuzzled into her sweater, the hand on the opposite shoulder playing with the strap on Eden’s pajamas.

Eden pressed her face to Alastor’s hair, not quite kissing him. “You’re doing great, sweetie,” she praised.

Alastor let go momentarily, then fixed his pillow, pulling Eden in close. Eden was super sleepy by now. She would be off to dreamland any time now. She rolled over, becoming Alastor’s little spoon. He didn’t ask any questions. He simply fixed his own body to be more comfortable, draping one arm over Eden’s waist and letting the other one rest under her neck. He loosely wove his fingers through hers and pressed his nose to her hair, breathing softly into her head. One leg moved between Eden’s.

“Sweet dreams, beautiful,” he whispered as Eden drifted off into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOHHHKAY so. From this point on we're about to enter the second half of the story, with the second main plot point and the more autobiographical aspects of Eden's character coming out. I don't want to give too much away, but...buckle up y'all.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The happy couple spends some time showing off to each other after Eden gets a little bit nosy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONG CHAPTER YEAH BOIIII   
> I am aware that Alastor dances a lot and likes it but...you're about to see that there are times when he's not that fond of it due to ~bad experiences~  
> I said this on Twitter and I'll say it here: Pay close attention to Eden's behavior from here on out. Do not read anything she does at surface level. 
> 
> It'll make sense VERY soon.
> 
> Song lyrics: I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty. They are a bit sexually explicit so I apologize in advance.

It had been a long while since Eden had felt this way about someone, and an even longer while since she woke up with the warmth of another body next to hers. Alastor had let go of her during the night, now happily sleeping away (but was he really sleeping?) and blissfully unaware of the tiny form that had shifted closer to his body for warmth. She readjusted again, resting her head on his broad shoulder and burying her face in the crook of his neck.

He smelled _amazing_ \- vanilla and old books with a _hint_ of musk. It was intoxicating. The ends of his silky-soft hair tickled her cheek. Eden couldn’t help herself. She snaked her right arm under his neck and gently combed through his fire engine red locks with her claws. She pressed a gentle kiss to his jawline. “So handsome,” she murmured quietly. “All mine.”

“Sleep well, love?” Alastor asked sleepily, pulling a startled gasp from Eden. She had had absolutely no idea he’d been awake.

“Wonderful!” she replied, a genuine smile growing on her face.

“I can tell you’re smiling, dearest. Do me a favor, move back a little so I can see?”

Eden sat up, which wasn’t exactly what she’d been asked to do. Her braid had come undone in some spots, leaving stray curls to frame her face. She was _beaming_ , fangs and all, prompting Alastor to smile back at her softly.

Soft, gentle. Two words Eden wouldn’t have dared use to describe the Radio Demon even a week earlier—nor would he. This was a side of himself that Alastor hadn’t allowed to show in a very long time. Seeing Eden’s smile—a genuine, bright smile—left him breathless. He chuckled quietly. “Darling, I must say that I have never seen a woman with a smile quite as beautiful as yours.”

Eden giggled, blushing _violently_. She was sure that even Alastor didn’t know he was such a flirt. Alastor reached up and stroked Eden’s cheek with his thumb, staring deeply into her eyes with much adoration. Eden’s insides felt all goopy.

Alastor sighed, “My dear, you are simply breathtaking.”

That was that. Eden began to move back to laying down, but stopped herself. She couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. “Cuddle?” she squeaked. Embarrassing.

“My, my. Needy little thing, aren’t we?” Alastor teased.

“Please?” Eden looked at Alastor with puppy-dog eyes.

“Oh, fine. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

Alastor reached for Eden’s shoulder and drew her in close to him, allowing her to nestle her head right underneath his chin. Her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. One of Alastor’s arms wrapped around Eden’s waist, his hand resting right at her hip. His other arm crossed over his torso, his hand on her shoulder and his thumb tracing gentle circles across her soft, delicate skin.

“Better, sweetheart?”

“Better,” Eden cooed.

_Safe_. Eden felt safe in Alastor’s arms, something she _never_ thought she’d say. Until a few days ago, Eden genuinely didn’t think she would ever find safety inside the Hotel, but it turns out that the one being she feared the most was actually exactly the soul she needed for this level of comfort. For someone who claimed to have never felt this way about someone, he was awfully good at loving someone. Maybe he didn’t want to admit it, maybe he feared it. Maybe someone had hurt him deeply and he was too afraid to love anyone ever again.

She knew for a _fact_ now that Alastor, despite being one of the most feared beings in the entire underworld, was a _huge_ softie.

She wasn’t even using her aura right now. This was genuine. She had made the Radio Demon fall head-over-heels _madly_ in love with her with such little effort, and he was now showing him his most vulnerable side. This man, a cannibalistic serial killer who would’ve eaten her alive in any other scenario, had been made weak in the knees by a tiny gazelle with a paintbrush and pointe shoes.

“You’re so sweet, Alastor. I…” Eden thought. The guilt ate her up inside. Alastor had no idea what Eden had done to get to Hell, insisting that someone had made a mistake and framed her for something she didn’t do.

If only he knew.

But she felt too bad about it. She didn’t know how Alastor would react to her, _of all souls_ , having done something so foul—she had a dark side, but was far too afraid to show it to anyone. He’d believe anything else. Anything.

“Oh, goodness, no!” Alastor laughed. He nuzzled his cheek against Eden’s hair. “I am still a vile, foul creature, my dear.”

“Oh,” Eden’s disappointment was immeasurable, and her day was ruined.

“But I can always make exceptions,” Alastor continued, “And you, sweetheart, are very much the exception.”

Alastor abruptly sat up, Eden still clinging to his neck. “Darling, may I dress you today?”

“How’re you gonna do that, sir?” she giggled.

“Darling, don’t ask questions. Some things are best kept a secret.”

Alastor rolled out of bed and practically bounced to the other side. He took Eden’s hand and gently pulled her out of bed, situating her in front of his mirror. “Now, do me a favor and close your eyes—and don’t open them until I say. Are you ready?”

“Yessir!” Eden said, covering her face with her hands. She only heard Alastor snap his fingers, followed by the textures on her body changing, her height being raised slightly by the addition of shoes to her feet. “Open ‘em, dear!”

Eden was _amazed_ by how well Alastor had dressed her. Despite having not even seen her closet, he had put together an outfit that was uniquely her—and an outfit she didn’t even consider putting together. The blouse- a white long-sleeved chiffon blouse with a loose black necktie, tied neatly into a bow—was one she hadn’t even worn yet. Alastor had paired it with red crushed-velvet circle skirt (he was really going in on her secret love for velvet, the cheeky bastard), black tights, and the same flats that she wore almost every single day. Her hair, still braided, had been redone and tidied up, though some curls still framed her face. “One moment, darling,” Alastor said, “I need to add something.”

“Do I have to close my eyes for this?” Eden joked.

“Not at all, dear,” Alastor responded as he snapped his fingers. He moved the braid over Eden’s shoulder. It was now decorated with tiny black and white flowers. “Much better! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go clean myself. Stay put, _ma ch_ _ère._ ”

Alastor turned on his heel and headed for his bathroom, only stopping to blow a kiss to Eden. She rolled her eyes, though a blush decorated her face once more. _This man is going to be the death of me_ , she thought.

While Alastor was in the shower, she decided to have a look around his room. He wouldn’t know if she didn’t touch anything, would he?

First, she took note of the bookshelves in one corner of the room. Alastor had a _huge_ library. She knew that he was an avid reader, but she had no idea how big his book collection was. Most of the books appeared to be antique—outdated science books and first-edition copies of many classic and obscure novels from the early 20th century. Not a single book on the shelf looked modern, and Eden found that intriguing.

The shelves were so tall that Alastor had to have a _giant_ ladder to reach the top shelves. She wondered if he’d ever made it up to the top shelf, and how many of the books he’d actually read. Examining the lower shelves, she saw all kinds of books—some about the flora and fauna of the underworld, some about theatre, even a mystery book. Interesting.

Eden migrated to Alastor’s closet. He had a walk-in closet that was perfectly color-coordinated and organized. Although he typically wore the same suit every day, he still had a big selection, and nothing was out of place. Despite owning _at least_ 45 suits, he only owned four pairs of shoes—all of them with his signature hoof prints on the soles in different colors. _A huge dork_ , she thought.

Then, she moved to the other side of the room. This was Alastor’s little music corner, and, from how scuffed up the floor was, she assumed he used this corner for dancing as well. She examined the instruments well. Against the wall was the Furby organ that Charlie loved to tease Alastor about. She didn’t think it was real, but oh…it was. And it was horrifying.

Adjacent to the organ was a regular piano, one that was well-loved and played. Next to that were the smaller instruments- a trumpet, a trombone, a saxophone, a clarinet, and—

_A violin_.

Eden hadn’t played in so long, but she didn’t want to touch it in fear that Alastor might do something to her if she did. Maybe if she asked, he’d allow it. But for now, it was better to err on the side of caution than to risk being caught.

She turned around and saw Alastor’s record player. She owned one when she was alive, but it was far more modern. Alastor’s was an old phonograph, with a bell on the top and everything. A shelf next to the record player held all of his records, mostly jazz records and musical scores. Lastly, underneath the record player stand was a small red box and a pair of tap shoes that looked like they were on their last legs. Eden sat down and cautiously took the box out from under the record player stand, debating opening it in fear of finding something she’d regret.

She didn’t even notice that Alastor was standing next to her.

“Somebody is a little curious, hmm?”

Eden jumped, startled by Alastor’s voice. To be fair, he wasn’t the quietest soul in Hell, even when he was genuinely trying to tone it down.

“No, not at all!”

“There’s no need to lie to me, love. Go on, have a look.”

“Are you sure? Nothing’s going to jump out and eat me, right?”

“No, no, of course not.” Alastor sat down next to Eden and took the lid off the box. Inside was a stack of old photographs.

“You have shown me your life on that strange rectangle of yours. Now, I don’t have any photographs from my human life, but I do have these.”

Eden picked up the first photo, a black and white portrait of Alastor when he first manifested in Hell. He looked _much_ different, far more human- like and with little nubs where his antlers would eventually grow. “I don’t remember when this was taken, but what I do remember is these ears of mine were starting to grow in and, _boy_ , did that cause a few headaches.”

“I can imagine,” Eden sighed. “How old were you when you died?”

“Thirty-seven, darling.”

“That’s pretty young,” Eden remarked, then thought. “Then again…I’m only twenty-five.”

“Good heavens, child! Barely a chance to live. But…go on.”

Eden gently set the picture down on the upside down lid. Then, she picked up a few more photographs, examining them intently. Many of them were Alastor boasting about his kills, covered in blood and looking completely feral. This was far from the Alastor that she’d seen the evening before and this morning. Then, she came across one that was far less scary and a lot more…goofy.

Alastor, on some kind of stage, in what appeared to be a white suit. The jacket had thick vertical stripes. He wore a straw hat on his head and leaned into a regular cane—not the microphone he carried around—and was posed with one foot crossed over the other. Alastor’s tail had begun to wag cautiously, thumping the floor as Eden examined the picture. “Al…” she chuckled, “Explain this?!”

Alastor cleared his throat. “Well…I do enjoy my dancing, love. Once I entered a talent contest at a jazz club and…though I got this _immaculate_ photograph to remember it by,” he gagged, “I suppose my act was not the best that night. Ever since then, I’ve preferred to dance with pretty gals such as yourself, and in here by myself— _not_ on stage in front of an audience that can see me. I’d much prefer that my audience only hears my voice.”

“And I’d prefer that an audience only sees me dance and never hears me sing.”

“Perhaps I could provide some lovely accompaniment to your ballet dancing sometime. Maybe now? I am a bit rusty with piano, but…” He stood up and began to walk toward the piano.

“May I watch you play first?”

“Ah, of course, dear. A good musician always warms up first.”

Alastor sat on the bench, patting the open space next to him. Eden joined him. Alastor’s hands hesitated over the keys as he thought of something to play. Finally, he thought of something and began to play a simple tune—possibly a folk song. Eden leaned up next to Alastor, watching as his hands skillfully played each note without a hitch. Before she knew it, the song ended. Eden sat up and clapped.

“Why thank you, dear. Now I can play something you can dance to. Go on!”

Eden stood up and flattened her skirt. Alastor began to play something a bit more up-tempo, and she had to take a moment to think of what she could do. Then, she let go. She did whatever came to her head, at first staying behind Alastor so that he couldn’t see her. Then, she migrated to where he could _just_ see her out of the corner of his eye, and, as he noticed her, his smile grew. _Excellent._ She jumped out of his eyesight, allowing him to continue to focus on the song. She turned and leapt with grace and joy, something she needed to feel.

As the song reached its end, Eden danced back over to Alastor, planting a kiss on his cheek as he played the final chord.

But, in shock, Alastor pressed all the wrong notes, resulting in a horrifyingly dissonant chord. Alastor stood up, towering over Eden. She sat on the floor and curled into a ball. “Don’t hurt me…” she whimpered into her knees.

Alastor regained his composure, remembering his own promise to himself. “I am not going to hurt you, dear,” he said, crouching down to Eden’s level and placing a hand on her shoulder, “But please do ask before you do such things to me. I’m not all that keen on kissing just yet.”

“I’m sorry,” Eden fought back tears. Alastor rubbed her shoulder. “I won’t do it again.”

Alastor lifted Eden’s chin with his finger. “That doesn’t change how I feel about you, sweetheart. I am…just not ready yet.”

“Okay.”

Alastor noticed Eden’s lack of eye contact and knew immediately what was going on. “You’ve been eyeing up my violin, love. Do you play?”

“It’s been a while but…can I?”

“I don’t know, can you?”

“Ugh,” Eden rolled her eyes, “ _May_ I play the violin?”

“Hmm,” Alastor approached the instrument, picking it up with the bow, “Let me tune it first.”

He turned the pegs, plucking the strings as he adjusted each one. Then, he handed it to Eden. “Go on, love. Play me a tune.”

Eden placed the instrument to her shoulder, thinking about what song she wanted to play. The only one she could really play from memory that wasn’t a pop song was her All-State solo from years ago—the most challenging song she had ever played. That was one of the last times she played, too.

It all came back to her. She was playing this without a warmup and it didn’t sound too bad if she might say so herself. As soon as she finished, she looked Alastor straight in the eyes and said, “It’s been eight years since I’ve played, sorry!”

“I couldn’t tell, darling! It sounded lovely.”

Eden’s stomach audibly growled.

“A bit hungry, are we?”

“Oh! Um…yeah.”

“Allow me to go bring up our breakfast, dear. I’ll be back in a jiffy!”

Eden watched Alastor leave and, moments after he shut the door, she approached the piano. The bench was still a bit warm from where he had been sitting, but she didn’t mind. She looked around, making absolutely sure that nobody was around, and began to play a melody to a song that she had stuck in her head since her meeting with Alastor in the courtyard.

And, while she was alone, she sang that song.

_Oh, Honeybear, Honeybear  
Honeybear, ooh  
Mascara, blood, ash and cum  
On the Rorschach sheets where we make love  
Honeybear, Honeybear  
Honeybear, ooh  
Fuck the world, damn straight malaise  
It may be just us who feel this way_

_But don't ever doubt this, my steadfast conviction  
My love, you're the one I wanna watch the ship go down with  
The future can't be real, I barely know how long a moment is  
Unless we're naked, getting high on the mattress  
While the global market crashes  
As death fills the streets we're garden-variety oblivious  
You grab my hand and say in "I-told-you-so" voice  
"It's just how we expected"_

_Everything is doomed  
And nothing will be spared  
But I love you, honeybear  
Ooh, ooh_

_Honeybear, honeybear  
Honeybear, ooh  
Ooh, ooh_

_You're bent over the altar and the neighbors are complaining  
That the misanthropes next door are probably conceiving a Damien  
Don't they see the darkness rising? Good luck fingering oblivion  
We're getting out now while we can  
You're welcome, boys, have the last of the smokes and chicken  
Just one Cadillac will do to get us out to where we're going  
I've brought my mother's depression  
You've got your father's scorn and a wayward aunt's schizophrenia_

_But everything is fine  
Don't give into despair  
'Cause I love you, honeybear  
Ooh, oh_

_Honeybear, honeybear_  
Honeybear, oh  
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Eden ended her song to the sound of faint radio static, then realized that she hadn’t been alone for some time. “You really ought to sing more often, darling.”

“Oh…uh…how much of that did you hear?” Eden laughed nervously. “And how’d you get back so fast?”

“About half of it. Dear, you do realize I can teleport?”

“Right. Forgot about that.”

Eden was embarrassed knowing that Alastor had heard her singing. Alastor sat next to her on the piano bench, feeding her a piece of bacon. “I suppose I’ll have to perform a little something of my own for you since you’ve so bravely shared that angelic singing voice of yours with me.”

“Unwillingly. And besides, I’m not _that_ good.”

“My dear, I would have stopped you if I didn’t think you were a good singer. And since you’ve done something uncomfortable for you…”

“Are you gonna tap dance for me?” Eden smile smugly.

“ _Unwillingly_ , but yes.”

“Good. If I have to be uncomfortable, then so do you.”

“It’s a sign of love, my dear. And give you a little show of my own, I shall. But first,” Alastor stood up, taking Eden’s hand and leading her toward a table that had magically appeared in the middle of the room. Eden wasn’t going to question this, as she had finally learned not to question most things Alastor did, “We must eat some breakfast. I’m starved.”

\--

When they were both finished, Alastor lead Eden back to the piano bench and sat her down, an eager smile painting his face. He began to head toward the record player.

Then, he stopped.

“Alastor, are you okay?”

Without turning around, Alastor sighed. “Yes, dear, I’m just…”

“Huh?”

“…Thinking about what song I’d like to dance to!”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Eden said, approaching Alastor and taking his hands into hers. She ran her thumbs over his knuckles. “You sound nervous. I won’t judge you. I can’t, I don’t know what you’re doing. I just care that you’re conquering your fear, just like I did…even though I didn’t want to. Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Oh, my love. It’s not that simple.”

“You can do it.”

“I suppose I’ll try.”

Eden returned to the bench and watched Alastor scan through his records before finding one. “Aha!” he cried, taking the record out of the sleeve. “I haven’t performed for anyone like this in _years_ so pardon me if I make a complete fool out of myself.”

Alastor snapped his fingers and the tap shoes that had been sitting next to his record player appeared on his feet. Eden thought it’d be a miracle if they held up for another five seconds. “Alright, darling, please excuse me if I make a fool out of myself.”

“Oh, hush!”

Alastor put the arm of the record player down right on the song, and a twangy piano melody started playing. Eden smiled, watching the deer as he figured out the tempo before diving right in.

And

_Ho._

_Ly._

_Shit._

Eden fell _right_ back in love with the man, who was revisiting his own personal Hell just to make Eden happy. He danced his way over to her, leaving just enough room between them for himself. She closed her eyes and listened to Alastor providing his own percussion to the music, seemingly never missing a sound. As she listened, she swayed to the music, her grin softening as she did.

At the very end, he took Eden’s hand, pulled her up, twirled her around, and ended with her in a low dip. He booped her button nose, finding her giggles to his little surprise ending to be the most adorable thing he’d witnessed in while. “Are you satisfied with that, love?”

“You’re… _amazing_ ,” Eden complimented, then teased him, tickling the tip of his nose with her neatly manicured claw. “You really ought to dance more often, love!”

“Well, I do most every day. Just not when I’m around others.” He lifted Eden back up, then retreated to the record player and put the record away, followed by switching his shoes out again.

“Well, you _should_ show your moves to others! You’re really good. Like. _Really_ good.”

Alastor approached Eden again. “Only if you sing for others more often, sweet girl.” Alastor leaned in and pecked Eden on the lips, defying what he’d told her earlier. She didn’t mention it.

“Shall we go downstairs, darling?” Alastor extended his arm to Eden, who linked hers with his.

“Yes, we shall!”

The announcement that Charlie made that morning would really throw the couple for a loop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and we'll be milking the shit out of Alastor's dancing ability for the next *checks plan doc* several chapters or so.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Try out for the musical! Charlie said.  
> It'll be fun! Charlie said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said that Alastor's dancing would be a prominent topic in this part of the fic? I was not joking.

As the couple walked down the hall, Eden’s hand migrated down to Alastor’s, giving it a gentle nudge. Alastor responded by immediately taking her hand. Eden’s fingers could barely fit around Alastor’s, but it they made it work. It made her feel wonderful inside. She knew very well that Alastor holding her hand like that meant that it was official between them. Right?

She hoped it did.

Charlie had called everyone into the hotel ballroom for a meeting that morning. Apparently, overnight, several new guests had arrived, which was incredible news. That was, at least, part of the meeting, but Charlie had a bigger announcement.

Eden was thrown off by Alastor heading for a seat toward the front, then abruptly turning around to sit in the back. “Why’d you do that?” Eden asked. “There’s plenty of open space up there.”

“No reason, doll. Just want to get out as quickly as possible when this meeting is adjourned.”

“Sure?”

“Yes, love.”

Alastor and Eden took their seats in the back. Eden leaned into Alastor as he put one arm around her. His free hand went to gently caress her stocking-covered knee. He half-listened to Charlie ramble on about some nonsense about her plan for a while, not paying too much attention since it didn’t interest him.

Then, the actual announcement came.

“So, as a celebration,” Charlie began, “We will be putting on a musical, written and directed by me and Vaggie. Auditions are a week from today, and we have a packet up front if you would like to try out.”

A musical?

Now she had Alastor’s attention. The musical would be in two months, and the day after the closing show, there would be a gala held for Charlie’s parents. All of this was for them, and Charlie really wanted to please them. Eden had already set eyes on Alastor as her date for the gala, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to try out for this musical.

As the meeting ended and the pair got up to leave, Charlie stopped them. “Wait!”

Alastor and Eden stopped, turning around to see what Charlie wanted from them. She was _thrilled_ over something, and handed two audition packets to them. “I want you two to play the main couple because you’d fit them very well! Like…still audition for the parts, but… you really should!”

“Well, that sounds like an excellent idea, Charlie!” Alastor responded, cutting Eden off from protesting Charlie’s suggestion. “Let’s go look at this packet, darling!”

Alastor grabbed Eden and dragged her out of the ballroom. Whatever or whoever he’d been avoiding earlier, he still _really_ wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The only thing Eden noticed was a redheaded woman sitting up front, and Alastor somewhat noticing her. Did he know her? Eden needed to know.

“Hey, uh…Alastor?” Eden asked as Alastor pressed the button on the elevator to take them back up to the 13th floor.

“Yes, my love?”

“Why were you in such a hurry to leave?”

“No reason. I just have a lot of things to do today and I want to get them done!”

“Hmmm…well, alright then.”

The couple stepped into the elevator as it arrived and went back upstairs and to Alastor’s room. When they went inside, Alastor brought Eden to his desk and they both looked through the information for the lead roles. “Alastor, are you sure you want to do this?” Eden asked nervously.

“If only to make Charlie happy, sweetheart. The synopsis for this thing is quite silly, but if it makes Charlie happy for me to participate, then I gladly will. But only if you do, too.”

“Well, I haven’t looked through what I need to do.”

Eden read through the requirements for the character Charlie wanted her to play and what was asked of her was completely outside of Eden’s ability level _and_ comfort zone—to the point she thought about sticking around backstage rather than auditioning for the part.

What were the requirements?

The actress must be able to sing mezzo-soprano or alto. Eden was fairly sure she was a soprano, even asking Alastor for his input—he agreed, but figured Charlie could adapt the part somehow.

Fair point.

Another requirement was that the actress should be comfortable with many, many costume changes, including hair. Eden was used to the first part—she could change from an intricate tutu with a corset back and pointe shoes to a two-piece contemporary dress with her hair down in less than a minute—but she had so much hair now that that part would be very hard to do. Lastly, Charlie required that this actress should be able to handle advanced tap dancing—a style Eden had very little experience in, and for a reason that was a bit complicated to explain.

“This…this is a joke, right?” Eden bit her bottom lip. “None of this applies to me except for the costume changes. Does Charlie even know me?!”

“Dear, you can learn quickly. I’ve seen you.”

“There’s…a major problem though.”

“What’s that, my love?”

“Let me tell you a little story…”

Eden cleared her throat. “When I was two, my parents noticed how I always tried to copy my older sister when she was practicing for her dance classes. I loved it so, so much even though I didn’t actually know what she was doing. I didn’t talk at all yet—that isn’t normal for most kids—but they could tell that I wanted to be just like her. So, at the beginning of the next year, they signed me up for the little kid dance class at my big sister’s studio.

“It came time for my first class and I was really excited. I kind of remember what I wore, I remember that I had a pink leotard and a pink tutu and little legwarmers to match. I remember my mom sitting in the front with me, I was in one of the metal chairs they’d set up, and she put on my ballet slippers. I was so happy! My dance teachers knew I didn’t talk at all, but they were happy to have me.

“Now, the way those classes work usually is that it’s kind of…a sampler class, I guess? So you try all different styles and then you learn a dance to one for the recital at the end of the year. It’s all basic stuff, really cutesy, they put the kids in cute sparkly outfits and none of them really know what’s happening. Normal stuff.

“So, the first half went well. My parents said that that was the first time they’d seen me smile so big since I was a baby. I got to play with ribbons, Alastor! Toddler me loved that. I literally don’t think anything made me happier at that point. I learned the different positions, I got to walk around like a princess. It was the _best_. I was going to learn to dance just like my sister did!”

“Then, the second half of the class happened. Tap. My mom noticed I winced a bit and walked really delicately when I had tap shoes on, but it never occurred to her why that could’ve been the case. And then you put me in a room with them on, then add 25 other kids and three adults also wearing them, plus loud music, and it was _awful_. I couldn’t focus on anything and _screamed_ because it was actually hurting my ears.

“My parents just assumed it was a transition thing and that I’d adjust. But after six weeks of the same thing, they pulled me out. I actually had just been recommended to be screened for autism right before this, ended up not having it, but I do have some auditory processing problems, so… that was a thing.

“After that, my parents searched around for a toddler class that was ballet-only. We found one, and my parents were happy to take me there even though we had to go all the way to Providence every Saturday morning to get me there. They didn’t mind though—I was happy with it! I ended up staying there until I died.”

“So…allow me to repeat what you said,” Alastor replied, “You feel that you are unable to do the dancing part for this audition because it…will hurt your ears?”

“Yes.”

“But it didn’t bother you when I was dancing for you this morning? You sure looked like you were enjoying it, sweetheart.”

“No, because it was just you. Part of it is where it’s coming from and part of it is intensity. Like, if I dropped something heavy, even if it didn’t hit the ground super hard, it would scare me to death.”

“I see, I see.”

“I also don’t know what on _Earth_ I’m doing. It’s not a style I know anything about and…it’s super complicated, ya know? That’s a lot of stuff to learn in a week. As for singing, I…I’m gonna have to suck it up, I guess. But I’d rather sing if you were also singing with me, if…if you can.”

“I will do my best, love.”

“So now I’m curious since I told you my story…how’d you learn to dance? And why aren’t you nervous about having to perform in front of others? I thought you didn’t like that.”

“I’m only doing this because you are, darling. If you’ll sing in front of others, then I shall dance. And…how did I learn? Oh, darling. Back when I was alive, it was commonplace to dance with partners for social reasons. I learned a little bit of everything, really—the waltz, foxtrot, swing, the Charleston. If there was a style I didn’t know, I’d learn it. You see, I was quite popular when I was alive despite the _circumstances_ of the South in those days, and social gatherings meant meeting plenty of ladies and learning plenty of new things from them. I never had time to perfect anything, just had time to learn a few things. I never went to dance classes, there were none for me that I could ever find. I didn’t have the time to, anyway. Too busy hosting radio shows and killing people.

“Now, when it came to tap dancing, I learned all of that from films before I died. It fascinated me! A kind of dancing where you could get all eyes on you, just by taking a step—what fun! I got quite good at it before I was murdered myself, I must say. I thoroughly enjoyed the numerous complaints from the couple that lived below me whenever I would practice.

“So, that photograph you saw this morning, sweetheart? Yes, that was the time I decided to perform a song and dance number for a jazz club variety show. Well, it seems that I misunderstood the purpose of that club. I was the only one who didn’t perform something lewd that night, and the audience was _not_ impressed with me. Rosie—a dear friend of mine—took that photograph of me. Oh, I think it had to have been…1934, it must’ve been. And when the audience reacted with boos, I killed all of them, and the club owner. My first carnage! Oh, what fun that was, even though Rosie wasn’t too pleased with me.

“I realized then that I had power, and that I could erase anyone who I felt deserved it! Or whoever I simply felt like killing that day. It entertained me so! And broadcasting to the underworld what I was doing made me feel so free. While I did so, I spent my leisure time relaxing, reading books, and continuing to polish up my dancing. I feared ever getting a bad reaction ever again, so no more performing for me. Not until now, anyway.

“Sweetheart, the only reason I stopped my carnage was because I got bored of it. I may be a powerful being, but going on murder sprees doesn’t interest me anymore. I don’t know what kind of poison you’ve been putting in those apples, dear, but you’ve brought me to be entertained in a new way. It’s brand new to me. Strange, even. “

What a tangent.

Eden sighed. As much as she didn’t want to do this, she realized that she kind of…had to. Charlie’s words never, ever left her mind.

_Be brave, Eden._

She was going to do this, for herself, for Charlie, and now for Alastor. At least the people watching would be people who wouldn’t make fun of her if her audition was a complete flop. Anywhere else in Hell, she was sure she’d be ripped to shreds by the directors in the most brutal of ways. With Alastor around, she did think that he wouldn’t mind erasing them for making fun of her.

“Darling?”

Eden was snapped out of her daze by Alastor calling for her, then tilting his head curiously. “C’mere,” he said, pulling Eden into his lap. He rested his chin on top of her head and pressed two of his fingers to her neck, feeling her pulse. “Nervous?”

“A little bit, yeah.”

“Darling, I know you’re lying.”

“Okay, a big bit. I…don’t know how I feel about any of this.”

Alastor kissed Eden’s forehead gently. “Remember. I’m only doing this if you’re doing it. Will you?”

Eden sighed. “Yes but—”

“No _buts_ , dear. I do need to spend some time coming up with something that’s manageable for you for this ridiculous thing. I need some alone time to do so.”

“Nooo…” Eden snuggled in closer to Alastor. “I don’t want to leave.”

“Darling, please. For a few hours? I’ll send my shadow your way if that’ll help any.”

“He won’t hurt me, will he?”

Alastor rolled his eyes. “Dear, why do you think so much that I or my shadow would hurt you now? You are too much of a gentle soul for either of us to contemplate that any longer.”

“Oh.”

“And…if you wish, I shall come find you once I am done and give you all of the _cuddles_ you desire.”

“Sounds fair.”

Alastor walked Eden to the door, then picked her up and peppered her face with delicate kisses, pulling a smile and giggles from her—and prompting his own heart to feel full again. “That’s my sweet girl. Bring that smile with you later.”

“Oh, stop it!”

Eden supposed it wouldn’t hurt to give this audition the old college try. After all, she wanted more than anything to get Alastor to try out, too.

She couldn’t quit now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have our first signs of Eden's clinginess.
> 
> You'll find out why she's Like This™ very soon.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor is a bad dance teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to get a bit of asshole!Alastor into this thing so. Here. 
> 
> Also, prepare to die from secondhand embarrassment.

Eden dreaded having to start working with Alastor the next day. After he finished his work, she did return to him to cuddle—which was much needed—but slept alone in her room. She was restless. Alastor had to constantly remind her that she loved dancing! There was no reason to be nervous. She hoped that he understood her problem, though. A lot of what she said to him was new information. She often forgot that her issues were seldom spoken about when he was alive, if at all. He _did_ say he was going to work with her, but how much? 

At breakfast the next morning, Alastor could tell Eden was uncomfortable. Even though she kept it under wraps, he knew. As they ate, he slipped his hand under the table and put his hand on her knee, stroking it with his thumb. This was quickly becoming a comforting thing for Eden—it felt so _familiar_ to her. Why? And it still baffled Eden how Alastor could have become so gentle so quickly.

After breakfast, Eden returned to her room to get ready for her first practice with Alastor. She intentionally took her time getting ready, even going so far as to change her leotard three times despite already knowing which one she wanted to wear. She spent time trying to get her hair into a neat bun, only to give up because it barely fit atop her head. She settled for a ponytail—anything that would keep her from accidentally stepping on her hair. When she did finally muster up the courage to go to Alastor’s room, she stopped by her safe haven to grab her ballet slippers.

She finally went upstairs to see Alastor. She could hear him practicing something. He had propped his door open with a wooden wedge, and Eden quietly went inside, removing the wedge and carefully closing the door so it hardly made a sound when it latched. She tip-toed across the room, closer to Alastor, and watched him carefully. When he turned around, he struck a pose, his attentive, closed-lipped smile growing to an eager grin. He then approached her and picked her up, kissing her cheek. “How’s my favorite ballerina doing now?” he asked.

“I’m still scared,” Eden confessed.

“There’s no need to worry, dear. I think I’ve found a compromise!”

Alastor put Eden down. Eden was somewhat shocked by Alastor—a compromise? Alastor? Wow! This had to be a first to him. She wouldn’t be shocked if he still somehow made this all about himself, though. As much as she loved him, she knew this would be the case.

“First of all,” Alastor began, then snapped his fingers. A pair of bright red heels appeared on Eden’s feet. “This should make it easier for you to reach me. Now if you’ll notice, they’re just plain old, regular high heels. That, darling, is because I took your silly hearing problem into consideration.”

“It’s not _silly_ , Alastor.” Eden rolled her eyes.

“Second,” Alastor continued, ignoring Eden, “If anything gets too hard, just stop me.”

“You promise you’ll go easy on me?”

“I’ll do my best, sweetheart,” Alastor lifted Eden’s chin and pecked her lips. “Would you like to see what I’ve come up with?”

“Sure.”

Eden sat down on the floor and watched Alastor get into position. Suddenly, piano music filled the air and Alastor quietly counted to himself. When Eden saw the choreography, she wanted to quit right there and then.

There was _no way_ she’d be able to learn all of that plus a song in a week.

When Alastor finished, he immediately noticed that Eden looked unsure. “Now, now, darling. You look unsure of this but I can assure you, as long as you do what I say, it will be just fine.”

“I…I really don’t—”

“ _Please_ , Eden.”

“I’ll try it.” Eden stood up defiantly and joined Alastor, who looked eager to begin working on their audition.

An hour into practicing, Eden was stunned that Alastor hadn’t given up on her yet. She could tell that he was really trying to help, but also seemed amused by her struggling to comprehend his choreography.

 _Relax. It’s only day one_.

But as the days went by, Eden still struggled with Alastor’s choreography. She knew he didn’t want to hear her complain anymore, though, so she figured it’d be best to keep her mouth shut. She just kept trying. Really, she was trying. How Alastor kept his cool when she couldn’t get the steps down correctly was anyone’s guess.

Later in the week, though, Alastor dropped his gentleness and softness as Eden had barely gotten a grasp on his choreography. Eden gave up completely on the end of the dance break when he couldn’t adequately explain how to do the steps. She very nearly quit on him.

Walking to the wall, she rested her arm on the wall and hid her face from Alastor. She really, really wanted to cry, but held back knowing he wouldn’t go easy on her if she did. She just took a few deep breaths while waiting for Alastor to unleash his wrath on her.

To her surprise, though, he didn’t. All of a sudden, Eden felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind and a chin resting on her head. For the first time, Alastor spoke with barely a filter on his voice.

“I just need you to try harder.”

“I _am_ trying, Alastor,” Eden said without turning around.

“I have tried everything to help you, darling. We are very behind on this audition, and it needs to be ready for tomorrow.”

“I don’t know what to do. I want to quit.”

Alastor turned Eden around and pulled her in close, cupping her chin with his hands and lifting it so she was looking right at his face. “Do not quit on me, my love. Just do your best.”

“Okay, but _how_?! I need you to show me.” Eden removed Alastor’s hands from her face

“I _have_ been showing you. How else can I show you how to do these steps?”

“ _I don’t know, Alastor_.”

“Huh,” Alastor tapped his chin, thinking for a moment.

“Maybe if you actually broke down the steps into smaller pieces? I don’t know? Show me facing me, maybe? _Explain it with words?!_ ”

“Do you really think that would help?”

“ _Yes. Yes it would_.”

Alastor let out a silent groan, then stood in front of Eden. Then, letting Eden follow along with each tiny piece, he showed her _every microscopic movement_ within his choreography, speeding it up every so often until Eden had mastered it at the correct tempo. If this was going to take all night, then it would.

They even missed dinner.

By 3 AM, the pair ran through their audition one last time. Eden didn’t miss a single step. Alastor, extremely pleased with himself (and with Eden), rewarded Eden with plenty of sweet kisses and praise. Then, Alastor picked Eden up, pressing his forehead to hers. “You’re sleeping with me tonight, sweetheart.”

“What?”

Before Eden could process anything, Alastor had changed them both into their pajamas. He then carried Eden to his bed and held her so tightly that she could hardly breathe. Eventually, Alastor loosened his grip on Eden, allowing her to settle next to him, falling asleep very quickly. Alastor himself stayed awake for a couple more hours, reading a book, then falling asleep halfway through.

The next day was the big day. Eden slept much later than Alastor did. Alastor, despite having only slept for an hour or so, was up bright and early with so much energy. When she finally opened her eyes, Alastor was fully dressed- smile and all- in a freshly-ironed suit. She sat up and yawned, and Alastor approached her, kissing her forehead. “Mornin’, darling!”

“Good morning,” Eden replied sleepily, leaning forward and burying her face in his shirt. “You look spiffy.”

“I can’t do this silly audition without looking my best, dear. And neither can you.”

“What? I was just going to wear a leotard and shorts—”

“No, no, no, my dear. That simply won’t do. I’ve got your outfit all picked out for you.”

“Huh?”

Before she could even think, Eden’s pajamas had been turned into whatever Alastor had picked out for her. “Go look, dear!” Alastor said, giddiness in his voice. Eden stepped off the bed and looked in the mirror. It came as no surprise to her that Alastor had matched her outfit to his. He’d even done her hair into a half-up ponytail, crowning the ponytail with two tiny roses. “What do you think?”

“Not bad,” Eden said nervously. She twirled around, watching the pink and cream-colored layers of the petticoat under her skirt flare out with her. She approached the mirror, adjusting her bow tie that was a smaller version of Alastor’s. Now, it made sense why Alastor had made her practice their audition in those _awful_ heels.

“Shall we practice one more time, love?”

“Yeah.”

Surprisingly, Eden had retained everything she had to re-learn the night before. Then, it was time for them to go audition. Eden’s nerves flared up as Alastor took her hand so that they could walk downstairs together. Until that point, she had just been _frustrated_. Now, having to sing in front of Charlie and Vaggie, who didn’t even know that she could sing; having to dance in a style she still knew very little about in front of at least one person who knew very much about it.

If she hung out slightly behind Alastor so that she could see him, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. He had been _insisting_ that she stay directly next to him for visual purposes. However she knew better than to turn her head if she got lost. As much as she promised Alastor that she had memorized every step, she really wasn’t confident in herself.

They stood backstage, watching a tiny fox demon absolutely bomb his solo audition. Eden felt some relief, knowing that at least she wouldn’t be _that_ bad.

She hoped.

Charlie was _far_ too nice to rip into the fox. All she said was, “Great job,” then dismissed him from the stage. Then, she called Eden and Alastor on. Eden clung to Alastor’s arm as if it were an extension of her body. Charlie was sat at a table in front of the stage and Vaggie played a piano version of the song. Eden’s mouth dried up as Vaggie began to play.

The first half of the audition went surprisingly well, though Eden couldn’t tell if the volume of her singing was loud enough. All she knew was that her voice—and this had been apparent since the pair had started learning the song a week earlier—clashed with Alastor’s. But she felt confident in herself until the dance break began.

The first part, which was some partner choreography, wasn’t so bad. It was only when the tap dance began that Eden completely fell apart. The choreography was completely lost on her. She stayed behind Alastor, trying to follow along with him, but her meager scuffing kept her way behind. Alastor, on the other hand, was nailing it. He was completely upstaging her.

Eden’s smile had disappeared from her face. When Alastor rejoined her for the end of the break, it was clear only through his eyes that he was not happy with her. She managed to finish the song with a smile, but that quickly faded after they both hit their pose. To save face, Eden held Alastor’s hand as they exited the stage, but as soon as they had entered the hallway, Eden walked away from Alastor, her cheeks running hot with embarrassment.

She already knew, from seeing Charlie’s face after the audition ended, that she wasn’t going to be cast.

Eden took a seat in the lobby to collect herself, and Alastor crouched down in front of her, rubbing her knees with his thumb. “I—” Eden began.

“We’ll discuss _that_ travesty in private, darling. Come upstairs with me.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor is a bit too forgiving.  
> Also, an old friend shows up at the hotel...

The elevator ride back up to Alastor’s room was painfully silent. Alastor seethed with a smile on his face, tapping his foot. Eden didn’t make eye contact with him. She was afraid of what was going to happen, but knew that she was probably about to be broken up with…if her and Alastor were really dating, anyway. She still wasn’t even sure what they were.

When they arrived at Alastor’s room, Eden immediately took her heels off, then sat on the bed with her face in her knees. She knew she was in for it. Alastor paced the floor, looking for the right words to say. “Well,” he began, coming to a noisy halt, “It appears that I can’t read you the riot act for that performance because you’ve already humiliated yourself enough.”

Eden didn’t look up. All she did was nod in response.

“I thought you had it together, but it appears I was premature in my beliefs.”

No response.

“But…I suppose it is best to let this go, and we shall find out later what the result is. Eden?”

“No.”

“Eden, dear,” Alastor’s entire demeanor changed from irritated to concern. “I’m not mad at you, sweetheart.”

Eden peeked up from her knees, sighing, then relaxing her body. Her feet dangled over the edge of the bed and she clasped her hands, looking down at them.

“Cheer up, my love! I apologize for being so harsh just now. You know I worked hard.”

“ _We_ worked hard.”

“That we did! Now, certainly there’s something I can do to bring back your pretty smile.”

Eden shook her head.

Alastor tapped his foot on the floor, remembering that he still had his tap shoes on from the audition—the same old ones he refused to let go of. He broke into a short dance, only for the heel to detach itself. “Oh, hah. That’s inconvenient.” Alastor chuckled.

Eden didn’t respond. Alastor took his shoes off and shoved them under the piano. He then looked around, tapping his chin and trying to come up with another way to cheer Eden up. “What if I played some Furby organ for you?”

“No thanks.”

“Can I sing to you?”

“Not in the mood.”

“Hmm.”

Alastor joined Eden in sitting on the bed. He put his arm around Eden’s shoulder. “Look at me, darling.”

Eden looked up at Alastor, her eyes with visible circles under them. “My, my, sweetheart. You need to sleep. Would a cuddle help you feel better?”

“Yes.”

Alastor lay down and pulled Eden on top of him, her body flush to his. Alastor tangled his fingers in Eden’s hair, lightly massaging her scalp with the pads of his fingers. She quickly fell asleep, enveloped by Alastor’s body heat.

She didn’t know how long she was asleep for, but the next thing she knew, she was being awoken by Alastor. “Darling, I believe the cast list has been posted.”

Eden sat up and stretched, allowing Alastor to put her shoes back on for her. He then scooped her up, brought her to the door, then put her down. He took her hand, and they left the room again. Eden rubbed her eyes and yawned a few times in the elevator, snuggling into Alastor’s arm as she tried to wake herself up.

When they entered the lobby, a small group of demons had crowded around two pieces of paper affixed to the wall. Alastor barged through the crowd, Eden in tow. He scanned the list. Sure enough, he had been given the lead male role. Eden scanned the list for her name, hoping she had gotten _something_.

She had made the main cast, alright, but she had been given a supporting role. She wasn’t even an understudy for the part. Her heart sank. Despite not even wanting to do this in the first place, hadn’t Charlie wanted her to play the lead female role?

Charlie had spotted Eden from across the room, immediately noticing her disappointment. She pulled her aside for a moment, leaving Alastor to mingle with others who weren’t afraid of him…which most of them were. “You okay?” asked Charlie.

“I’m…alright, I guess. I saw this coming.”

“I might have overestimated what you knew how to do. I mean—you are very talented, I know you can dance, I had _no_ idea you could sing. But the reason you didn’t get cast in the role I wanted you in was because I think the role you got fits you much, much better. Your voice, your whole personality. You’ll see!”

“Well…that does make me feel _a little_ better.”

“Ooh, ooh! And you also get to wear a really pretty dress at one point! Wanna see the design?”

“You already have it designed?!”

“Yup. Here.”

Charlie pulled out her phone and showed Eden the dress. “This doesn’t even do it justice. The whole top is gonna be covered with crystals. _Ugh_ , I love it.”

“I…wow, that’s so pretty. _Wow_.”

Eden looked up from Charlie’s phone, noticing Alastor talking to the same redhead demon he’d been trying to avoid. She could swear that this new person was trying to flirt with Alastor, but he didn’t look amused.

“Well,” Charlie said, “You can go now. That’s all I had to tell you.”

“Yup,” Eden said, “Thanks.”

Eden walked away from Charlie and over to Alastor, who she realized looked _very_ uncomfortable. When he spotted her coming, he relaxed a little bit. “Ah, there she is!”

Alastor, being the _gentleman_ he was, had to introduce Eden to the woman he’d been speaking to. As he spoke, he twirled and posed Eden like she was a little doll. “This little sweetheart is my girlfriend, Eden!”

_Ah, so that’s what we are._

“Your…girlfriend?” the redhead said, confused. “I thought you didn’t _do_ the whole _dating_ thing.”

Alastor pulled Eden in close to his side. “Well, I didn’t until this _darling_ little demon came along. Even someone as terrible as myself needs a sweet little lady in his life, and I believe Eden fulfills that need.”

Eden blushed. _Cute_.

“Oh. I see.”

“Eden, this is Penelope. She’s an old friend of mine! Haven’t seen her in _years_.”

Eden waved, but said nothing.

“Ah, Penelope. I thought I might add, Eden is a bit shy. Not much of a talker until you get to know her.”

“Alastor, can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Not now, dear. I’m, ah, a bit busy today, and I must return to my work. Come along, Eden!”

Alastor lifted Eden up and threw her over his shoulder like a rag doll. She grunted in protest as he did. Alastor quickly got into the elevator as Penelope followed them. Fortunately, the doors shut before she could get in. Alastor put Eden down. “What on _Earth_ was that?!”

“I’ll explain in a moment, dear.”

Back in Alastor’s room, Alastor had to explain what was the matter with Penelope. “She’s an old flame of mine. I suppose we had a _thing_ , but we never went steady.”

“Was she flirting with you? She better not have been.”

“Darling, she was trying. Unfortunately, she is the one that was given the other lead. She was too excited. Well, anyway, ever since I left her, she has been stalking me. She will not leave me alone! Everywhere I show up, Penelope follows. I should have known she would show up here sooner or later.”

Eden bit her bottom lip, becoming nervous about this. “She…she isn’t gonna try to take you away from me, is she?”

“No, no, dear. I will make sure that she can’t do anything of the sort.”

“But…I’m afraid that she will.”

Alastor kissed Eden’s forehead. “Nothing will ever take me away from you.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes, darling. I love you too much to allow that to happen.”

Eden and Alastor sat in silence for a moment. “Can I kiss you?” Eden asked suddenly.

“What makes you ask that, love?”

“I want to kiss you. Can I?”

Alastor leaned in closer to Eden. “Fine.”

Eden planted a sweet kiss to Alastor’s cheek, causing him to blush as bright red as his hair. Keeping her nose pressed to his face, she smiled. “I’m so happy that you’re mine.”

“Yours and nobody else’s, love.”

Alastor, for the first time in his entire existence, leaned over and kissed Eden’s lips, only this time, it lingered for much longer. It felt surprisingly good.

When the kiss ended, Alastor and Eden kept their foreheads pressed together, gazing into each other’s eyes and smiling sweetly at each other.

Truly, they belonged only to each other and nobody else.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden and Alastor get all warm n fuzzy.

For a while, rehearsals went surprisingly well for both Alastor and Eden. Despite Penelope trying to get between them during breaks and outside of rehearsals, they remained almost inseparable. Even when Eden was working on her own choreography in her safe haven, Alastor would keep her company, often sitting in the window seat and reading a book while Eden worked. Occasionally, he’d even stretch with her, even though his century-old body furiously tried to stop him from doing do. Alastor, despite having endless stamina, wasn’t limber in the slightest. Sure, he could go on a rampage for days without sleeping, and sure, he could lift Eden up with one hand, but when it came to being physically flexible, he just…wasn’t.

Eden had promised him proper ballet lessons once the musical was all over. Perhaps that would help him.

However, a problem was beginning to arise. Eden, despite Alastor’s many attempts to reassure her that he loved her and wasn’t going to go anywhere, she still worried that he was growing tired of her and was distancing himself from her. Her attempts to grab his attention before had been small—a sweet smile here, praise and gentle touches there. Alastor normally didn’t like being touched, but he did enjoy it when Eden would give him little nuzzles while they were walking together or rub his cheek with her thumb before they fell asleep at night.

Eden never wanted that to end. During rehearsals, if she was within Alastor’s line of sight, she would often use that moment to practice her harder bits of choreography, making sure Alastor was going to see her. In her eyes, applause from him or even a grown smile meant that she’d done her job. When on breaks, especially if Penelope came around, she would do everything in her power to remind her that Alastor was hers and hers alone. Kisses, compliments, and praise became standard for her. Alastor didn’t mind, nor did he even realize why Eden was doing any of this.

Even the way that Eden dressed for rehearsals became more noticeable. She spent more time getting ready, even spending more time doing intricate hairstyles on herself, just so that she could keep Alastor’s attention. It worked—Alastor would compliment Eden, often loud enough for Penelope to hear. It both seemed as if Alastor knew nothing about what Eden was doing while knowing _exactly_ what she was doing. And he absolutely _loved_ the attention.

Even after rehearsal, they would spend more time with each other, whether that was playfully making up dances with each other or cuddling and watching a film.

However, Eden understood when Alastor sometimes needed time to himself. When rehearsals ran late, they were both _exhausted_ , and needed to spend time apart. They were often in agreement with this, too. Still, Eden would often wake up to a little note from Alastor reading something like “Good morning, sweetheart!” or even him personally coming to her room to wake her up. Eden was too afraid to ever return the favor, as she valued her sleep too much.

How he never tired of Eden was perplexing.

Just as nights apart were needed, late nights working were just as common. Often, these nights were meant for Alastor and Eden to work on the one song they did have together in the show. Charlie had been magical in making their voices work together for it, including working with Eden to strengthen her normally soft singing voice. Undoubtedly, Eden could sing. However, she struggled with projecting herself because her voice just wasn’t strong enough. Her whispery singing voice clashed with Alastor’s _harshly_. They could harmonize well, but their voices didn’t match.

Charlie’s insight had been a godsend for Eden, including with building her confidence in both singing _and_ speaking in front of others. Eden still struggled to speak to new people, but with the show now being a month away, it was imperative that she overcame her selective mutism.

Eden knew that her condition didn’t work that way, but if she could fast-track speaking to then getting into a relationship with Alastor, of all people, then anything was possible. At this point, she had nothing left to lose. The only thing that scared her more was having to talk to Charlie’s parents. Hell, even being in the same room as Lucifer himself scared Eden to double-death. Fortunately, Charlie had attempted to explain Eden’s issues to her parents, though she wasn’t sure how much they had heard.

At this point, if Eden had impressed them with her posters for the show and the surprise painting she had been working on for the lobby, she’d be satisfied.

One night, Eden and Alastor decided to stay late in her safe haven after rehearsal- Alastor working on choreography for one of his solos and Eden working on poster designs for the show. Eden mostly kept to herself so as to not distract Alastor. She listened to music while she worked, surprised that she was able to access her playlists on her human phone from Hell. She had been trying for _weeks_ with no success, and wondered if Alastor had anything to do with it. Was he even able to interfere with cell phone signals?

Maybe not, he _hated_ modern technology. Certainly he wouldn’t even know how to interfere with her phone signal to let her be able to get to her music, would he? At the same time, he did care about Eden enough that it didn’t seem unrealistic for him to make an exception like that. He really only wanted the best for his little darling.

Every so often, Eden would pause her music to listen to Alastor practicing. She knew he was doing great. Whenever he would let out a frustrated grunt, she would mumble, “You can do it, sweetie.” It was like magic—almost every time, he’d successfully do whatever he was struggling with. Then, she would get back to work. The cycle continued late into the night.

Eden barely heard Alastor approach her when he was done, and was caught off-guard by him lifting her chin and kissing her upside-down. As Alastor kissed her, she smiled. “You are too cute,” Alastor muttered against Eden’s soft lips. Then, he let her go, kneeling down next to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, his head resting on her side. He watched her draw for a few minutes. “You know,” he said, “As much as I despise modern technology, I do find it quite fascinating what you can do with that screen.”

“My tablet? Oh, yeah. It’s pretty neat. No need to replenish my paint collection, ya know?”

Eden fixed up a few lines, then retracted her arm to check her work. “I do…think I’m about done here,” Eden said as she signed the poster. She then zoomed out to show Alastor. “How’s it look?”

Alastor adjusted his monocle, leaning in closer to get a better look at the drawing. “Well, from what I can see, it looks quite nice, darling.” Still on the floor, he pressed a sweet kiss to Eden’s hand. “Would you like to see what I have been working on?”

“Yes!”

Alastor led Eden to the dance studio and sat her on the window seat. To her surprise, he sang the entire song, too. He even interacted with her, caressing her face and singing directly to her. When he arrived at the dance break, his normally expressive smile became a bit more focused, and now Eden fully understood why Alastor was so frustrated. Whatever choreography he’d been given was both intricate and fast. Yet, despite his apparent uncertainty, Alastor didn’t miss a beat. Eden’s smile grew when she noticed that he had finally gotten through the whole thing without much of a noticeable mistake. He finished the song, and Eden had to give him her own standing ovation.

She was _so proud of him_.

Eden approached Alastor to hug him. Noticing this, he grabbed her hand and twirled her around, watching her purple dress flare out around her. He then pulled her in close and rubbed his nose against hers, then they pressed foreheads. “You did amazing, honey,” Eden praised.

Alastor picked Eden up and hugged her tight. As he embraced her, his tail swooshed happily. “Thank you, sweetheart.” Alastor pressed his nose to Eden’s hair, inhaling her sweet scent as he held her. If it was the only scent he ever had to smell for the rest of eternity, he would gladly take it.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” Eden whispered into Alastor’s neck.

“I’m not sure, my love. I am very tired.”

“Pleeeaaasseeee?” Eden nuzzled into the crook of Alastor’s neck. For some reason, at that exact moment, her anxiety began to act up.

“Darling, what has you in such a fuss right now? I can feel your pulse. Your heart is pounding.”

“I…had a memory, is all,” Eden lied. She honestly didn’t know why she was so anxious all of a sudden.

“I didn’t upset you, did I?”

“No, no, you didn’t.”

Alastor thought for a moment, noting how oddly Eden was behaving just then. He’d had minimal experience with anxiety like this, but even for Eden, he felt that this was quite strange. Something felt _wrong_ , and he no longer wanted Eden to sleep by herself.

“Alright, you can come sleep with me, sweetheart.”

Alastor carried Eden all the way up to his room. As per usual, he magically changed Eden into her pajamas, then carried her to his bed. He held her extra close that night. Something still felt off to him, but he couldn’t quite figure it out.

“You’re so warm,” Eden mumbled into his shirt.

“I’m glad you’re comfortable, sweetheart,” Alastor cooed. “Now rest up. We have a busy day tomorrow, and I want you to wake up bright-eyed and bushy tailed. You’re beautiful, darling, but you’re much more gorgeous when you’ve gotten enough sleep.” Alastor kissed Eden’s forehead.

“Good night, honey,” Eden replied drowsily.

“Good night, my sweet girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're cranking up the angst next chapter.
> 
> Stay tuned.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a dark turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!WARNING- Chapter depicts character having a panic attack and engaging in self-destructive behavior. Read at your own risk.

_Eden woke up in her car, in the dark, on the side of the highway. She was staring at a pair of hands attached to her body, but those hands looked nothing like her own. They were glowing red, and they felt hot, as if she had just touched coal._

_Next to her, in the passenger’s seat, was a human-sized burlap doll with button eyes and no clothes. Its head was partially detached and stuffing was coming out of its body. When Eden touched it, some kind of brown liquid poured out of its body. Eden panicked, dragging the doll from her car, then launching it into the woods. She sped off, only to realize that her car wasn’t moving._

_It was then that a figure appeared in the backseat, but she couldn’t make out who it was. Finally, her car began to move, but it was as if she couldn’t find her exit. Nothing was popping up, not even a rest stop. Another figure appeared in the backseat and she realized who it was—Alastor and Penelope._

_Neither of them spoke, and all Eden could make out of them now was their glowing smiles, both illuminating the rest of the car, but not the backseat. Eden panicked, hoping she’d find somewhere to pull off soon. She had no idea how long either of them had been there. Had they seen what she had done? What **had** she done? _

_Suddenly, Eden was in her bedroom at her grandparents’ house. Everything had been destroyed, as if a hurricane had come through, and she was bound to her bed by her own sheets. A severed hand was covering her mouth, while another one was holding some kind of substance. She could hear the disembodied voices of her family chanting from the living room._

_COWARD.  
COWARD.  
COWARD.  
COWARD._

_Eden tried to scream for Alastor. He appeared, telling her that he was done with her and that she needed to figure this out for herself. It was uncharacteristically mean-spirited, angry, and blunt. The voices got closer to her._

_COWARD.  
COWARD.  
COWARD.  
COWARD._

_The other severed hand fed her the substance, and her heart rate sped up. As she blacked out, she heard half of a headline on a distant TV before completely fading out:_

_“THE BODY OF COL—”_

\--

Eden woke up suddenly, curling into a ball and hyperventilating. Eventually, she felt tears begin to form in her eyes, and she choked out sobs, trying to stay quiet so as to not wake Alastor up. She wanted so, so badly to just disappear and never have to think about anything ever again. She was shaking violently as she sobbed, feeling completely frozen in place as she did.

As she panicked, her brain only filled with intrusive thoughts, reminding her of her dream, then merging into repeated thoughts of Alastor leaving her abandoned in this way. She knew he’d think of her as weak for feeling this way, and that only made her feel worse. His voice filled her head, along with thick static, threatening to leave her if she didn’t stop. And it was _loud._

So loud, in fact, that she barely noticed Alastor rolling over and tapping her shoulder. “Darling?”

When Eden didn’t respond to him, he became concerned. He peeled back the comforter and was confronted by the tiny, shaking form of his girlfriend. “Darling, are you alright?”

“N-n-n-no…”

“Please, do tell me what is the matter?”

“I-I-I-I can’t b-b-b-breathe…” Eden gasped for air.

“Do you need to go outside?”

“Y-yes…”

Alastor helped Eden sit up, then he led her to his balcony, where they sat outside. He put his hand on her shoulder, attempting to pull her in close. She picked up his hand and removed it, only able to mutter a quiet “No.”

So, he just sat. Alastor had never felt so helpless before. Here was the one being that made him feel genuinely happy, who was normally soft and even-tempered, in absolute shambles. He should’ve taken the warning when her nightmare woke her up. Whatever she had been dreaming about must’ve played a part in this. It wasn’t an ordinary nightmare.

Eden cried loudly into her knees. “Make it stop,” she sobbed, “I need this to _stop_.”

Eden’s desperate pleas through choked sobs and sharp inhales were quite possibly the most heart shattering noises Alastor had ever heard. He felt as though there was nothing he could do to help her, yet he also needed to do something to bring her back. In that moment, though, it seemed best to let her ride this one out and let it end naturally.

Eden pinched her arm hard in an attempt to bring herself back to reality, partially breaking her skin. Alastor’s heart dropped watching Eden inflict pain on herself in such a way. He absolutely couldn’t allow her to do this, no. So, he grabbed her hand and held it. “No, no, no, darling. Don’t hurt yourself,” he said quietly.

Eventually, Eden’s breathing slowed and she stopped crying. She finally snuggled into Alastor’s shirt. “I’m s-s-sorry for waking you up.”

Alastor drew her in close, rubbing her back tenderly. “It’s not a problem, my dear.”

“Can we g-go back inside?”

“If you would like, love.”

Alastor walked Eden back inside and they both got back into bed. Alastor pulled Eden on top of him just as he had when she was upset about her audition for the musical. He ran his fingers through her soft locks. “Do tell me what has my little sweetheart feeling so blue?” he asked softly.

“Alastor, I…I’m afraid.”

“Of what, darling?”

“Of losing you. Penelope—”

“I don’t want you to worry about Penelope, little one. She is unimportant in my life after this.”

“I’m afraid you don’t love me as much as I love you. And after this, I know you’re going to think so much less of me. I’m sorry.”

“Eden!” Alastor sat up with Eden in his lap, pressing his nose to her and bringing his hand to her face. He was almost _offended_. “I love you more than I have ever loved any other being. Why would you think otherwise?”

“You’ve been so distant lately. I’m…I’m scared.”

“Sweetheart. Oh, my beautiful sweetheart.” Alastor pressed a sweet kiss to Eden’s lips. “I’m sorry if you feel that way. I’ve just been quite busy, you know. And I don’t think any less of you because you are hurting.”

“I know. I just…I just…” Eden began crying again.

“Shh.” Alastor sat against his headboard and pulled Eden in closer, rocking her back and forth. “It pains me to see you so upset,” he said as he wiped tears from Eden’s face. “Do you really not think I love you so?”

“I’m a-a-afraid you d-d-don’t.”

“Eden. Shall I tell you how much I love you? Do I need to spell it out?”

No response.

“My sweet, sweet girl. When you first arrived here, you were far too easy of a target for my pranks. Oh, what fun! A vulnerable, powerless little demon that I could use as my own personal toy. It was quite amusing, I must say. Every time I was scolded by Vagatha for my antics, it only fueled me more. I was unstoppable, my dear.

“It seemed things changed, though, when I found out that you wouldn’t speak to me, and only me. I knew you could talk. I’d heard your voice. You were _choosing_ not to speak to me, and I knew it was your own game to get back at me. A brave thing for you to do to the Radio Demon, my dear. It was infuriating. I tried very hard not to hurt you. I really did. When I bit you, I knew that I had made a mistake. For the first time, I felt guilty. I felt…something.

“I really, really wanted to suppress the _love_ feeling by making a plan to corrupt you and make you my assistant. It worked for all of about a day, but when we had our meeting, I realized that you were going to be more difficult to get to than I thought. For a while, when you cried, I did think of you as being too weak. I don’t usually like people that cry a lot. But you…I couldn’t figure out why I felt sympathy. _Sympathy!_ That was new to me, too. I never had any desire to hurt you.

“Finally, I gave into my feelings. I had fallen in love. Why, you might ask? Well, let me tell you, dearie. I never once thought of myself as being _soft_. I _am_ the Radio Demon, after all, and I find your name to be very fitting. I’m sure you know the story of Adam and Eve. You, being Eden—like the garden—you’re _very_ tempting. Irresistible, in fact. I couldn’t stay away. Yet you also planted a seed within me that I, for a while, didn’t want. I am my mother’s son, and my mother was always one to remind me to treat women well. I may be a sadistic murderer, but I was also raised to be a gentleman.

“Eden, you’ve brought out a side of me that scares me more than anything else. I hate to admit it, but I do…I do have a soft side. I’ve repressed this for so long that I’ve forgotten how to feel anything at all. We are opposites, yet at the same time, you were just what I have been missing. No more could I resist someone like you. Making fun of you, teasing you. That stopped being entertaining after I went into your room and destroyed it. I still don’t believe that I can ever be redeemed, and, dear, I don’t want to be redeemed if it means I can stay with you forever.

“My darling. Part of my promise to myself was to not physically harm you, but that also has extended to not emotionally harming you, either. You are as delicate as a fine vase, but one that has already been broken once then glued back together. A year ago I wouldn’t dare trust myself to not hurt someone like you—in fact, that would’ve been prime comedy for me. Getting to know you…it’s changed me, Eden.

“Never would I ever think of myself as patient or kind, but these are things that I now know that I am able to be, if only for you, love. Someone else has hurt you before and I wouldn’t mind ending them for you if I could. As for you, you are my sweetheart. Darling, you do have the sweetest heart I’ve ever seen in a mortal soul in Hell. Oh, my goodness gracious, you might as well be made of pure sugar. Every day, it perplexes me how you could’ve ended up down here, and it’s truly baffling that you won’t say why. But, I suppose there is nothing I can do to pull that information from you. That’s your choice.

“Still. Eden. My love, my sweetheart, my _favorite_ ballerina,” Alastor tickled Eden’s nose, “ you are the first woman I have ever truly loved like this, and I will love you for an eternity if that brings you the happiness that you so desperately need. You make me feel sheer, unadulterated joy. I don’t ever want anyone to take my sweetheart away from me. Darling, I have sincerely missed the sunshine, and you have brought that back to me.”

Eden buried her face in the crook of Alastor’s neck. “I love you so much.”

“I know you do, sweetheart. Now, I don’t think I’m going to be able to rest much more. Would you like to come sit with me for a while?”

Eden nodded.

Alastor snapped his finger and a familiar pink blanket appeared, wrapping itself around Eden. “Wait…I’ve seen this before.”

“Surprise! If you recall this blanket, well, it was I who had been covering you up every night. This has been going on for much longer than you think, doll.”

Alastor rolled Eden up in the blanket like a burrito, then carried her to his desk chair bridal-style. He snapped his fingers and a fire appeared in the hearth (Eden had never noticed it before). He sat down and held Eden close, rocking her back and forth. “Would you like me to sing to you, love?”

“Yes please,” Eden said as she yawned.

“Ah! This one is one my mother used to sing to me.”

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don’t take my sunshine away._


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden's a scheming lil bean.
> 
> The Author doesn't know how to write dialog with Niffty because she only spoke once during the pilot.

Eden’s panic attacks became somewhat more frequent as time went on. It seemed as though she had one every three days or so, and they often left her exhausted. They were always at night, too, since Eden was far less occupied then and it allowed whatever Hell-beast inhabited her mind these days to come out, full force. To save herself from making Alastor come to her rescue when she had one, she migrated to the bathroom or outside on her own. She wasn’t always lucky, though. Alastor would wake up and hear her sometimes, even if she had isolated herself, and provided her comfort.

It was for this very reason that Alastor stopped refusing when Eden asked to sleep in his room. In fact, he would no longer allow her to sleep alone, especially if he so much as caught her frowning for even a second. At this point, he was just winging everything without Charlie’s advice. Eden _seemed_ to be okay with whatever he was doing, so he continued.

Hell Week came around for the hotel musical and, as expected, things got chaotic. Niffty had gotten so invested in making costumes for everyone that she had begun to neglect cleaning the hotel as much. Some days it got done late while on other days, she completely forgot about her job. Yet her work paid off, and all of her costuming actually looked very good. She even did a majority of the designs, save for Eden’s special dress, whose bodice had been painstakingly decorated by hand with hundreds of crystals.

Because the show was now being run as a whole, Eden and Alastor couldn’t spend as much time together. When there was a break, though, they spent every second together, mostly cuddling and complimenting each other. It was as if in that moment, the only thing that existed was each other—and, quite frankly, nothing else mattered.

Alastor’s tail was getting sore from how much it had been wagging.

During one particularly sweet moment, though, a tender rub of noses was interrupted by the sound of a voice that could make anyone’s ears bleed. “Hey _Alastor!_ When’s it gonna be _my_ turn?”

“Your turn for what, Penny?” Alastor asked dryly, letting Eden bury her face into his shirt.

“ _That!_ ” she pointed to Eden.

“Hmmm, let me consult my schedule. Well, it appears that all of my free time is occupied by this little one!”

“But! But! Every other girl in this production got to! Why don’t I get to?”

“That, my dear, is a lie, and you know it. I am _fully_ committed to Eden, and that is final.”

“Alastor, you said you’d give me another chance—”

“It has been a half a century since then, and my mind has been changed. Perhaps if you’d stop following me everywhere—”

“But instead you gave it to _her_!”

“Please leave us alone.”

Penelope groaned and walked away, going to sit by herself in the lobby. “Alastor, what was that?!” asked Eden

“Do you see what I mean now, love?”

“She’s awful.”

Alastor just _had_ to give Eden a kiss for holding it together during that exchange, knowing full well that she might’ve had an anxiety attack if he wasn’t holding her. He kept his forehead pressed to hers for a bit, cupping her chin with his hands and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. “Sweetheart, I don’t know how it could be possible that you get more beautiful every time I see you.”

“Well, you get more handsome every time I see you, honey.”

Their tender moment was interrupted _again_ , this time by Charlie who had brought news and a garment bag to Eden. “It’s here!” she cried.

“What is?” Eden asked, perplexed.

“Your dress! Oh, it’s _amazing._ I have to get a picture with you two in costume after you try it on!”

Alastor picked up Eden and set her down, now standing, as if she weighed nothing. He then followed her until he reached what would be his dressing room, kissing her on the cheek as he entered it. Then, Eden followed Charlie to her dressing room. Charlie let Eden in, then waited outside as Eden changed.

Her face when Eden walked out in the dress was _priceless_. Its deep red-violet tulle complimented Eden’s skin tone well, and the bodice sparkled with its hundreds and hundreds of crystals. “How does it feel?”

“Perfect!” Eden said, giving a twirl. She waited patiently for Alastor to come out for pictures. She had yet to see the suit he would be wearing for this part of the show, but she had no doubt it’d look wonderful.

And oh, boy, did it ever.

When Alastor saw Eden in her dress, his knees about gave way and he turned around so that Charlie didn’t see his flustered state. A light blush had also crossed Eden’s face as she swayed bashfully, waiting for Alastor to say something to her. Little did she know that he couldn’t even string together the right words to compliment her. So, she spoke up.

“You look amazing in white.”

Alastor regained his composure, then turned around. “Darling, you look absolutely dazzling, pardon the pun.”

Eden giggled in response, then Alastor approached her, scooping her up bridal-style. Charlie sneakily took a picture of the cute moment, with the two lovebirds touching the tips of their noses together. Then, Alastor put Eden down, and Charlie asked them to pose together. She snapped the picture, spending a moment gushing silently over how cute they looked together.

After the picture was taken, Charlie decided it would be best to leave the two lovebirds alone, noting how infatuated they were with each other. Alastor led Eden to her dressing room and allowed her to change back into her rehearsal clothes, then, when she came out, he put his jacket around her shoulders. “I need to practice for a while,” Alastor said. “You are most welcome to watch, sweetheart.”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t want to? You know I love watching you dance.”

Alastor led Eden to sit on the floor, then adjusted his gold vest and rolled up his sleeves. The smile on his face grew as he began mumbling part of the song to himself, then began happily tapping away. Eden listened for a while, occasionally chiming in to give him words of encouragement if he seemed confused. This only fueled him to keep trying.

Then, the absolutely _awful_ sound of Penelope’s voice could be heard calling for Alastor from down the hall. _Great_.

Seconds later, Penelope appeared, wearing a tuxedo that was almost identical to Alastor’s. “We need to practice our song,” she demanded. “So, little girl,” she poked Eden, “I’d suggest you run along and find something else to do and let us grown-ups work.”

“I’m 25,” Eden mumbled, hurt by Penelope’s insult.

“Oh, Penny,” Alastor chimed in. “I would first like to say that Eden is _not_ a child. She is very much an adult— she’s just petite. Why would I be getting romantic, let alone going steady with, a child? I may be a terrible man, but I would _never_ stoop that low, dear. Such men who groom young girls like that are, quite frankly, disgusting, and I would _never_ do such a thing. Second, I do not believe that Eden will be much of a distraction. She can stay.”

“But _I_ don’t want her here. She’ll be distracting to _me_.”

Alastor looked at Eden, then at Penelope, then back at Eden. Eden looked at Alastor longingly, hoping he’d let her stay.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Alastor approached Eden, kissing her forehead. “Can you let us practice for a while alone? I will come find you as soon as we are finished, I promise.”

Eden stood on her toes and drew Alastor’s face in toward hers, pecking his lips. “Okay,” she said, then turned on her heel and walked away, only being able to let out a loud, disappointed sigh before disappearing down the hall. She figured that, since she didn’t have much else to do, and everyone else was busy, that she’d hang out with Niffty while she finished up the remainder of the costumes.

Niffty really knew how to cheer anyone up when they were upset.

“Charlie showed me your dress!” she cried. “It’s _perfect!_ I mean, I don’t think I could make anything that fancy. I can make the plain stuff but _oh boy_ , that must’ve taken _weeks_ to make!”

“It is really pretty,” Eden chuckled. “You should’ve…you should’ve seen Alastor’s face. I thought he was going to faint.”

“You know something? I’ve known Al for…oh gosh, sixty years, I think. And I have never seen his face that red before.”

“Was he really that flushed still when that picture was taken?”

“Oh, Eden. You both were!”

“Niffty, do you think…do you think that Penelope is going to try to take him away from me?”

“Absolutely not! And if she does, she’ll have to deal with me. I know we don’t talk to each other all that much but…you’re my friend! And I kinda work for Alastor, so…”

“No, I get it. You know him better than anyone here…well, except for Husk, maybe. And I’m sure you’re close with him.”

“Close? He’s like, my family. I’d be way worse off if I never met him!”

“You know…you’re right, Niffty. About a lot of stuff. I sit here worrying so much about him but he…really does worry a lot about me. He’s changed a lot—”

“You think?”

“Yes. I thought he was some cold, cold man until I got to know him. He takes good care of me.”

“He has a soft spot for souls he thinks are innocent. But you and I both know that we’re not that innocent.”

“What do you mean, though?”

“Eh, he likes protecting certain people I guess. He knows you won’t hurt anyone, and he thinks I won’t either, so he like, hmm, he just wants to protect us. Ya know?”

“I…guess I get it.” Eden sighed. “But it did hurt just a bit ago when he asked me to let him and Penelope practice without me there.”

“Ugh, Penny is awful. She’ll never leave Al alone as long as they both exist. I don’t know how she keeps finding him, but it’s _ridiculous._ ”

“I don’t even know why she treats me like that.”

“Jealousy. That’s all. She knows you belong to Alastor and that’s it.”

“So…”

“So you ignore her! You’re gonna shine so much brighter than her this weekend, anyway. You go up on stage and you show her that you mean _business_.”

“You know what, Niffty? You’re right.”

Just then, Vaggie opened the door to the little closet that Niffty had taken over to do her sewing. “Oh, there you are,” she said. “We were supposed to start rehearsal again five minutes ago.”

“Oh, no, no, no, I’m so sorry—”

“Don’t worry about it. Just go get on stage. It’s a good thing this is after your duet.

Because of _course_ it’d be the big duet between Alastor and Penelope.

Eden kept Niffty’s advice close throughout the night. Niffty was absolutely right. Eden was Alastor’s and Alastor’s alone. She was absolutely going to upstage Penelope whether Charlie and Vaggie wanted to her or not. Eden had been in enough stage productions to know better, but the opportunity was right in front of her.

After all, this _was_ Hell. If she was going to act stupid, she was going to do it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of an update I guess? There are now only 13 chapters left. Thirteen. One ten and three ones. Keeping on schedule, this should be fully finished and published by the middle of August. This has been my CHILD since...technically mid-May and I'm kind of sad to end it, but.
> 
> More info will come at the end of the fic.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's musical time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to apologize a CRAP TON for not updating. Without going into details, a lot has happened since Wednesday, leading me to decide I was going to do a double-update this weekend. The situation is not important (but if you follow me on Twitter/know me from Discord, you know what has happened). Fortunately, everything's fine now, but it caused a major delay in updates.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this DOUBLE update ♥

Angel had lost track of how many rollers he had used in Eden’s hair.

It was the night before the opening show of the musical and Eden had gone to Angel’s room to have her hair partially done. Having been cursed with the _thickest god-damned hair Angel had ever seen_ , Eden had to start getting ready the night before. To save time, Eden helped out by doing the sides while Angel did the back and bottom layers of her hair. It still took a ridiculous amount of time, though—almost four hours, including a break for snacks.

That was the first time anyone had ever heard Husk genuinely laugh.

During their time together, Eden and Angel spent time venting to each other. Angel was _intrigued_ by Eden’s encounters with Penelope. Angel had to be blunt about what he thought about Penelope: “What a bitch!”

Eden then explained to Angel what Niffty had told her, and Angel was _incredibly_ interested. Being a performer himself, in an industry where there was pressure to be the best and make the most money, he knew exactly what it meant to upstage your competitors. “Which means that I’m going to paint your face _extra_ good for this thing, kid.”

“Can you make Penny look like shit then?”

“I’d rather not get my head chopped off by Vaggie so…no.”

“Aww.”

“I would _love_ to if that wasn’t a risk! Besides, she’s ugly enough as it is.”

“ _Angel!_ ”

“I’m not wrong! I mean. She ain’t the prettiest broad I’ve ever seen.”

“This is one of those times where I wish cigarettes aged you as quickly as they do on Earth.”

“Hey!”

“Not you, her. I mean, she _reeks_ of nicotine. Have you smelled her? At least you don’t smell like a tobacco factory.”

“I have _some_ class! And I don’t smoke _nearly_ as much as she does. I’m surprised Smiles is able to stand so close to her without dying.”

“I mean, he showers and throws his clothes in the laundry _at least_ twice a day now because of that. He knows I don’t like that smell, and neither does my respiratory system.”

“Asthma?”

“Yup. Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I…I actually thought about making myself have an asthma attack by staying too close to Penelope for too long just to get Alastor’s attention. Is that bad?”

“Eden.”

“What?”

“That’s kinda fucked up.”

“So…bad?”

“Ya think? You need to do other things with him to get his attention. Words? Love ‘em. Sweet talk the _shit_ out of him, especially around Penelope. Body language too—speak with your face and your movements. _Touch him_ , you know where he likes it.”

“His cheeks. I’m not even joking. And his ears, but that’s a dangerous one to go for in public. He might kill me for that one.”

“ _Which cheeks are we talkin’_?”

“Angel, no. His face cheeks.”

“Ehem, right. Also, hold his hand. Show Penelope who Alastor’s girl _really_ is. Kiss him. Kiss him _in front_ _of_ Penelope.”

“This is good.”

“And leave the rest to me. There’s a reason I’m in charge of makeup and hair, and I’m going to make sure everything’s perfect. Same thing with the gala. If you need to make a bitch jealous, come to me. I’m your guy.” 

“Angel, I have never been happier to be your niece than I am right now.”

Angel finished putting the remaining curlers into Eden’s hair, then checked to make sure that not a single hair was out of place. “Damn,” he said, wiping his brow, “That was a piece of work.”

“Perfection takes time, darling,” Eden joked in response.

“That it does, kid. Go get some sleep. It’s late and dark circles look good on _nobody_.”

Eden slept in her room that night since her and Alastor agreed that they’d both be too distracting to each other to get enough rest. She knew very well that Alastor would be up late anyway (he _insisted_ that he didn’t need that much sleep), probably ironing his costumes and shining his shoes for the next day, or practicing, or reading…who even knows?

She had a surprisingly peaceful rest.

\--

Opening day finally arrived, and Vaggie was _stressed_. The dress rehearsal the previous day had been chaotic as hell, and she had been running around both late into the night and all that morning trying to make sure everything was set to go well. Charlie was pretty sure that Vaggie hadn’t even eaten, much less slept, since the previous afternoon.

She had tried to get Vaggie to settle down and get some sleep, but Vaggie knew that she wouldn’t be able to do so until after the first show if it went well. Not only was the show stressing her out, but Eden’s behavior had gotten…weird. It started after she found Eden in Niffty’s makeshift sewing room with Eden overacting every line she had. Then it progressed. Eden almost seemed to shove her way into some scenes where she was supposed to blend in the background. Eden seemed to do it in a way where she still blended in with the other actors, but Vaggie knew much better than to ignore it.

Dress rehearsal night was when Eden really upped the ante. When singing in a group, she would intentionally sing _slightly_ louder so that her voice could be heard more. She also belted during her duet to the point where she went sharp. Her acting was also far more exaggerated than it had been before. The worst part? When Vaggie went to talk to Eden about her performance that night, Eden had already left and wouldn’t be seen for the rest of the night.

The morning was too hectic for her to try again, too, so Vaggie decided to brush it off as Eden just being too nervous.

Too bad she didn’t know about Angel’s makeup plan for Eden. He did Eden’s face and the rest of her hair before anyone else’s, making sure not a single hair was out of place and that her makeup was perfectly matched and stood out. Eden, upon seeing herself, wanted to cry. She had never _felt_ more beautiful.

Eden then returned to her dressing room to get dressed and relax before the show, taking her time and checking every part of her first costume so that nothing went awry. She finally managed to calm her excitement down, too.

That is, until she heard tap shoes clicking down the hall to her door followed by an unmistakable knock. Eden’s heart started racing again as she answered the door. Sure enough, there was Alastor, mostly in the first suit he wore for the show (sans his jacket) and his hand behind his back. Eden let him in, and he presented her with a bouquet of red roses and a little envelope with a note inside. Alastor went and sat in Eden’s chair, then pulled her into his lap, nuzzling her cheek while she read his note.

_Break a leg, sweetheart!_

_Je t’aime._

- _Alastor_

“I’d kiss you if I didn’t just have my lipstick done, honey,” Eden smiled. “But I’ll be giving you plenty after the show.”

“And I shall return the favor, my love.”

Eden stood up and did a twirl, batting her eyelashes at Alastor. “How do I look?”

“Gorgeous as always, darling. Now, I do believe we have a sound check to do?”

“Ah, is it that time already?”

“I think so,” Eden said as she stood up off of Alastor’s lap. She pulled up her tights and adjusted her skirt. “Charlie said 5:00, right?”

“I believe she did.”

“Well it’s 4:58 so…ready?”

“I am.”

Alastor took Eden’s hand as she led him out the door and down the hallway to the stage, where the other leads had gathered and were mingling, waiting for Vaggie to hook up their microphones. Alastor never let go of Eden’s hand the entire time, occasionally giving it loving squeezes to remind her that he was still there. As Vaggie approached the couple, she looked Eden directly in the eyes. “We need to talk after the show tonight.”

“O…okay,” Eden responded, feeling more anxious now than she already was. Vaggie hooked Eden’s microphone up, taping it to her face so it wouldn’t fly off while she was dancing. Alastor, being the Radio Demon, had no need for a microphone since he could naturally project his voice. His biggest issue had been controlling his static throughout production. There were two problems: first, his static sometimes interfered with the other microphones on the stage. Second, it came in and out and sometimes made him nearly impossible to understand despite speaking loudly and pronouncing everything well. Right now, it was _very_ strong. Eden could feel it so strongly that it was making every hair on her body stand up.

Eden turned to Alastor and took his other hand. She looked up at him. “Hey, sweetie. You nervous?”

“Oh ho! No, not at all. What makes you think that, darling?”

“Your static is really strong right now.”

“Hah, well, that’s unfortunate.”

Eden rubbed her thumbs over Alastor’s knuckles. “This is nothing you haven’t done before, okay? You’ve got this.”

Alastor leaned down and kissed Eden’s forehead. “And you as well, my love.”

As Alastor finished speaking, Vaggie silenced everyone on stage, asking everyone to line up single-file across the stage. Penelope barged in on the other side of Alastor, pushing him and nearly knocking Eden off her feet. Eden shot her an unusually dirty look from down the line, and Penelope smirked back.

Each of the actors took turns speaking or singing something to test their mic, then was dismissed. Eden, in her adrenaline from what Penelope had just done, decided to project much louder than she usually did.

Mistake.

“Eden,” Vaggie called from the back of the theater, “if you’re going to keep singing that loudly, I’m going to have to turn your mic down.”

“Okay,” Eden responded quietly.

“So can you do that again at the volume it’s set for?”

Eden sang her line again, this time with less enthusiasm and at the volume it was actually set for. Vaggie dismissed her coldly, but she hung out in the back so she could wait for Alastor. Vaggie skipped over him to do Penelope first, though, since Alastor also had the job of sound-checking the floor mics as well. As Penelope finished, she gave a smug pose, then turned around, making sure to flick Eden’s nose before returning to her dressing room. Eden stood behind Alastor, now seething with anger.

Of course, that didn’t last very long. As soon as Alastor started singing, anything she could’ve been upset about became irrelevant. And when he did a little bit of choreography to test out the floor mics, she might as well have ascended directly into the sun.

Afterward, Alastor and Eden went to Alastor’s dressing room, both so he could finish getting ready and so that they could squeeze in some pre-show snuggles, sprinkled with praising one another back and forth.

Alastor would never grow bored of Eden’s bashfulness whenever he told her how pretty she was.

The start of the show came up far too soon. The audience was surprisingly full, despite the hotel’s still mediocre reputation, with Angel, Husk, and Niffty sitting up front, eager to see the fully-finished product—except for Husk, who only came because he was forced to come.

Act 1 went off without a hitch, save for some minor mistakes that only those who knew Charlie’s show as well as she or the actors did would have noticed. Eden spent most of the act scared out of her mind about her duet with Alastor at the end, but fortunately, that song went very well.

She still couldn’t shake off the dread that came with having to be on stage during his and Penelope’s song during Act 2, but she’d done this so much that she kept having to remind herself not to worry so much about it.

Still, Eden just _had_ to see Alastor before returning to the stage for the second half of the show. She entered his dressing room to him straightening his golden bow tie. “Hey handsome,” she greeted flirtatiously. Alastor greeted her back with a sweet kiss on the cheek. “I must give you my compliments on our duet. You did beautifully, sweetheart. The audience loved it.”

“You did well, too. You ready for this next song?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, darling,” Alastor twirled Eden around, then dipped her. “I still wish it could be with you, though.”

“I think I do much prefer watching you from the side, though,” Eden toyed with a curl on the side of her head.

“It is distracting, though. How cutely you react,” Alasor tapped a few steps. “But it is quite fitting for such a darling little demon.” He planted a kiss on Eden’s forehead, then pulled her in close, picking her up for a long, snuggly hug. “I may never thoroughly understand how anyone in Hell could be so sweet.”

After a few moments, Alastor put Eden down. Eden shivered, then he put his suit jacket around her shoulders. They then walked back to the stage, where Alastor would continue to playfully twirl Eden around and compliment her to keep her smile on her face. It filled him with enough motivation to finish the first performance with a bang.

Eden, on the other hand, was more interested in the disgusted looks she got from Penelope every time Alastor kissed her or loudly complimented her. It was _truly_ entertaining.

Vaggie came around shortly before the act was set to begin to tell the actors to get into place. Eden took her spot on stage where she would be able to get the best view of Alastor, while Alastor took his spot behind a prop somewhere with Penelope.

When they did come out, Eden only paid attention to Alastor, noting that, of all of the times he had performed this song, this was _by far_ his best one. She could remember when they auditioned with this song, and how much she struggled to keep up with it. Maybe it never was her; maybe it was because the song was _right_ up Alastor’s alley as a showman.

Thank _God_ she didn’t have to wear a tuxedo for that.

The rest of the show went well, too, as the first act had gone. Before anyone knew it, the show was over and everyone had taken their bows. As promised, Eden peppered Alastor’s face with kisses once they were both in the hall, leaving lipstick marks everywhere. She went back to her dressing room to change, but was halted by someone knocking at her door.

Right. Vaggie still had to talk to her.

Eden opened the door and let Vaggie in. “What’s up?” Eden asked, still confused.

“I need to talk to you about your behavior lately,” Vaggie replied bluntly.

“Why? What do you mean?”

“You’ve been very uh…how do I put this…very show-offish lately. Very short-tempered and…you’re not acting like yourself.”

“I mean, I am stressed.”

“Me too, Eden. But the thing is, you’re regressing. You’re getting _worse_ , and it’s only a matter of time before you end up causing some serious damage. Why have you been acting this way?”

“Well, to be honest…I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“I’ve been afraid that Penelope is trying to lure Alastor away from me and back to her. So scared, Vaggie. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“I did, yeah. He said he wouldn’t leave me.”

“So take his word for it. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but Alastor is doing nothing wrong and if you continue to act like this, he will actually leave you. I know that sucks to hear, but…he already came to me, and so did Penelope and a few other people in the cast. You need to calm down.”

Eden felt betrayed, in a way. If Alastor was going to _Vaggie_ , of all demons, to express a concern, then she knew it was bad news.

“I’m sorry.”

“Look, go to bed and get some rest. _Alone_. And please, start thinking about how you act. If you really want to be redeemed, then this is going to make it so much harder for you. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Vaggie wished Eden a good night, then Eden finished wiping off the rest of her makeup. Eden began to head for her room, but as she turned the corner, Alastor came out of his dressing room. “Ah, Eden! There’s my sweet girl.”

Eden sighed. Alastor grabbed her hands and lifted her chin slightly. “Now, now, what has my darling all upset this time?”

“It’s…it’s nothing,” Eden sighed again. “Vaggie talked to me. It’s nothing.”

“Oh, no, no. Anytime I see my sweet girl without that gorgeous smile of hers, I know something is wrong.”

“Really, it’s fine. You can walk me to my room but…I’d rather sleep alone tonight,” Eden lied. Truth be told, she wanted Alastor to hold her again. Perhaps even bringing that up would get him to offer.

“That simply will not do, sweetheart. Should you have another _episode_ , I wouldn’t dare _for a second_ leave you all by your lonesome.”

Eden sighed a third time. “I…I guess you’re right. I don’t feel well. I need to sleep, so can you please let me sleep?”

“Of course, darling, as long as I can hold you. I’ll probably be up most of the night reading.”

“…Fair.”

So, Eden slept in Alastor’s room all night, curled up next to him, letting him stroke her hair while he read by the candlelight. As exhausted as Eden was, she couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned, trying every possible way for her to sleep comfortably. Yet her head kept her awake all night.

Finally, she gave up on sleeping and let Alastor read to her while she sipped on a cup of chamomile tea to calm herself down. She did eventually sleep, but only for about an hour and a half or so.

Absolutely nobody saw what was about to come from the little gazelle herself over the next few days.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was in that moment Eden knew: she fucked up

Waking up in Alastor’s arms was something Eden loved to pieces.

It was now the final day of shows for the hotel musical, and Eden had to be awake much earlier than Alastor so that Angel could touch up her hair. Of course, Eden couldn’t leave the room without giving Alastor a sweet kiss on the temple while he quietly snored away. He looked absolutely precious right about then.

Angel wanted to make sure Eden’s hair looked _extra special_ that night. When Eden was allowed to look in the mirror, she was delighted to see a thin stripe of gold glitter painted down her part. “You’re the only one that gets that, toots. Now you match your man just a little bit.”

“I love it!” Eden exclaimed.

“Good. Come find me before the last show later if ya need it fixed.”

To Eden’s surprise, Alastor was standing outside Eden’s dressing room already when she arrived, half in his suit. _God, he looked good in plaid_.

Eden was greeted with a kiss to her forehead. “There’s my beautiful girl. Ah! That spider must’ve done something to your hair, because you look _dazzling_ today.” Alastor chuckled to himself.

“Oh, this?” Eden pointed to the glitter. “Hah, yeah. It’s just a little something.”

Eden opened her dressing room door, letting both herself and Alastor in. “I’ll be a minute,” Eden said, showing Alastor to her chair, “I need to change.”

“Actually, I was going to practice for a little while if that would be alright.”

“Go on ahead, then.”

Eden grabbed her first costume and went to where she couldn’t be seen to change. When she returned, Alastor seamlessly merged his dance with grabbing Eden by the hand, then twirling her around, dipping her down. “Are you ready for today, my sweet girl?”

“Yes,” Eden giggled.

“Excellent.”

Alastor led Eden to her chair, sitting her down, then backing up, going into his solo song, complete with the tap dance break he’d been laboring over for _weeks_ now. The way he approached her every now and then to stroke her cheek or hold her hand while he sang to her always gave her butterflies. Eden was barely expecting Alastor to end his song with a slow, romantic kiss, even scooping her up into his arms to be able to reach her fully.

Now, if only he could get his tail to stop swooshing so much.

His nose still pressed to Eden’s, he chuckled. “It’s your turn now, sweetheart.”

“What? Oh...I…uh…”

“Don’t be bashful, pretty girl. Go on.”

“But I don’t know what to sing—”

Alastor’s shoe clicked as he tapped his foot. “Just sing our duet, dear.”

“You sure?”

Alastor rested his elbow on his leg and leaned into his hand. “The stage is yours, darling.”

Eden took her spot where Alastor had just been standing. Just as she had been doing, she sang her part of their duet without a hitch. Alastor listened closely to her sweet voice, now far sweeter than it ever had been. Charlie really had done good work with her—even going so far as to get Eden to emote while she sang.

Of course, Eden wouldn’t be herself without ballet. And of course, she showcased her talent beautifully in Alastor’s eyes. He’d known she had initially been upset with not being cast as the lead, but in this moment he realized that Eden was truly a thing of _Grace_ , as her character’s name suggested.

Charlie had chosen well.

Now, despite everything _seeming_ okay in that moment, Eden’s behavior kept gradually getting worse. She started to become upset for seemingly no reason at all, and wouldn’t tell anyone but Angel why she was upset. Angel, being a good uncle, kept quiet at her request. He placed too much faith in her to be able to handle this by herself. If Alastor stopped paying attention to her for two seconds, or even didn’t hear her, she would make so many desperate attempts to get him to pay attention to her.

It bothered her a lot.

Though Alastor still let her sleep with him every night, he seemed more reluctant to do so. During every break, Eden would need to spend time with him, but this had begun to hold Alastor back from getting anything important done. She _clung_ to him like her life depended on him. Even legitimately important tasks needing to be done was enough to send Eden into an anxiety spell. If Alastor only said he’d be gone for five minutes, and he came back later than that, Eden would become upset.

This bothered her.

Charlie, in all earnestness, wanted to cheer Eden up. However, Eden completely left Alastor out of the conversation whenever they talked. She didn’t want Charlie to know that she was starting to have problems with him. Charlie’s solution? Spend more time with him.

She really didn’t know, and Eden was far too afraid to say anything out of fear that Charlie would go after Alastor again. She didn’t want that.

Even when Eden was feeling okay, she would sometimes revert back to being silent and see if Alastor noticed—always at inconvenient times, hoping that he’d see her and acknowledge the fact later on and give her comfort. She even forced herself to cry on one occasion, hoping Alastor would walk by and comfort her.

Strangely, Eden had become angry at the same man she also wanted comfort from.

There was another issue, though: Alastor wasn’t actually doing anything to hurt Eden intentionally. In all honesty, he was a bit irritated by her behavior, but never confronted her because he didn’t know how to without sounding like an ass. As she got worse, though, he became more annoyed by her presence.

He hated giving Penelope so much attention, but forced himself to.

Finally, Alastor had had enough. He needed to talk to Eden _seriously_. This was new territory for him, as he’d never had a confrontation that didn’t involve him resorting to manipulation and torture to rid the Underworld of that soul. He knew he was going to hurt Eden no matter how he approached the subject, but it had to be done.

After sound check, Eden found a quiet corner in the hallway to spend time alone. Really, she was hoping Alastor would find her, and played up her sadness to make him feel inclined to sit with her.

It was a completely different story when he sat down in front of her, though. As much as he wanted to get his point across, he knew he still _needed_ to be gentle with her, otherwise this could end poorly for the both of them. At the same time, he had to put his foot down.

When he sat down, he placed his hand on her knee. “Darling, I must speak to you,” he stated, his voice somewhat shaky.

Eden’s heart sped up. This was _never_ a good sign. “Wh-what do you want to speak to me about?”  
  


“Well,” Alastor sighed. “I am…concerned about you, to say the least. You have been acting utterly bizarre lately, dear. Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Darling, I know you are telling a lie.”

“I mean…” Eden sighed, “I…no. I’m not okay.”

“Have I not been satisfying you enough lately?” Alastor could’ve punched himself.

“Honestly? I feel like you’re getting tired of me.”

“I could never. But…” Alastor’s eyes shifted around the room, “You have been playing this game with me. Dear, realize that I do wish to socialize with other demons. We are both adults and I have full faith that you can handle your predicaments without my assistance.”

“But…” Eden lowered her voice to a whisper “I’m scared.”

“Darling, there is no need to be afraid. I need you to stop relying on me so much.”

“What even is the point?! I don’t have any powers. I can’t defend myself. I’m under orders to stay in the hotel unless I leave with someone else because I’d never last a day on the street like this. I’m pretty sure I only survived because I was wearing a coat that smelled like a landfill. _No one_ wants to be near that. Not even me. Now, I’m weak. I can’t fight for myself. I’m a laughingstock here. I’m _lucky_ you’ve ever been nice to me, Alastor. And I feel like I’m losing that. I’m losing _you_.”

“Dear, that’s nonsense and you know it.”

“I don’t know what else to do. I feel hopeless.”

“Darling. You must understand that here, even if we are apart, I will not hesitate to torture anybody who dares try to hurt you. I just need you to know that you do not need to be attached to my body at all times. Understood?”

“I understand. I…” Eden sighed. “Never mind. I get it now.”

“Understand, though, that that does not mean I do not want you around. Quite the opposite, in fact! You are still a very swell gal. I just ask that you do not cling to me, my little doe.”

“Okay.”

Alastor then picked Eden up off the floor and carried her down the hall, where they shared a moment just holding each other and gazing into each other’s eyes. Suddenly, Alastor felt a tap on his back, followed by catching a whiff of stale cigarettes. He let go of Eden and turned around. “Yes?”

Eden peeked out from behind Alastor, biting her bottom lip.

“May I speak to you for a moment, Alastor?”

Alastor looked at Eden, then at Penelope. “I…don’t see why not.”

Eden looked up at Alastor with much caution, then realized she had to let him go. Alastor cupped her cheeks, swiping his thumbs just under her eyes. “I will be right back.”

“Okay.”

As Alastor walked away, Eden sighed. She decided that, while she waited, she would practice a little bit more. Unfortunately, her nerves kept getting to her. A minute passed. Then five. Then ten. Finally, Eden had had enough, and went to go find Alastor. Of course, when she found him, he was shooting the shit with Penelope. She had made it sound like she had something important to talk to him about.

Incredible.

When Penelope spotted Eden, she smirked. “Go on, Al, tell her.”

“Huh?” Eden’s brows knit together in confusion.

“Darling…I…” Alastor sighed. “I am overwhelmed by your antics. Please give me some space for the rest of the evening.”

“But…can I still sleep with you?”

“Darling, no. Not tonight and…not for a while.”

“Alastor—”

“I believe it is best we put our relationship on hiatus for now.”

“But—”

“Goodbye.”

Eden could _not_ believe her ears. It was in that moment she realized that she had gone too far. She turned around and, as she walked away, she screamed, “I don’t know _why_ I even bothered with you!”

She quickly found a spot in isolation where she could cry. She really didn’t think anyone would find her there; it was desolate. That is, until two beings crouched down in front of her and asked her if she was okay.

Mascara now running down her face, Eden looked up to find both Angel and Charlie in front of her, trying to comfort her. “Is everything okay?” Charlie asked, resting her hand on Eden’s shoulder.

“No,” Eden answered.

“What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You sure?”

“Its’s…nothing.”

“Well, it’s gotta be _something_ , kid,” Angel interjected, “You _never_ cry like this.”

“It’s…”

“Alastor?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck him. _Not_ like that, but if he’s gonna treat you that way—”

“It’s my fault, though. I’m…not okay with what I did.”

“Kid, look,” Angel scooted next to Eden and hugged her from the side, “You did a stupid thing. Give him a break for the night. We’re all stressed, but this thing is almost over.”

“Yeah!” Charlie added. “There’s still two more shows and _my parents are coming tonight!_ ”

“That doesn’t help me feel _any_ better!” Eden’s eyes widened.

“Eden, can you promise me something? Make these last two shows your best _ever_.”

“You’re right.”

“I know you’ve got it in you.” Charlie rubbed Eden’s shoulder, then stood up and left. Angel stood up after her, making Eden feel a bit intimidated by his freakish height. Then, he grabbed Eden’s hand with his lower right hand and pulled her up. “C’mon, let’s go get your face cleaned up.”

\--

Eden’s emotions really helped her performance stand out, even when she had to interact with Alastor. She was guilty, and she _knew_ it. But what helped her was that she upped her aura during both performances of her duet, illuminating half the stage. Fortunately, only three other people in the room could actually see what she was doing—and apparently, Lucifer thought it was part of the act.

Charlie, however, knew otherwise, and was quick to scold Eden for doing so after the final show. Eden, not wanting to stick around, changed quickly and left everything in her dressing room, hot tears forming in her eyes as she swiftly walked down the hall and to her room.

In her anger, she stormed to her safe haven and made a quick change to her painting. In some kind of sick satisfaction, she smirked, then returned to her room. In a fit of overthinking, she went into a frenzy, crying so loudly that she was practically screaming.

No one bothered Eden that night, and Eden, in her episode, had done so many things to herself and her room, yet would hardly be able to recall what she had done when she woke up the next morning. She decided that that day would be spent alone and in bed.

However, there was just one problem: the gala.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden ROYALLY screws up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize PROFUSELY for my lack of updates. I've had serious writer's block with this chapter and with everything that has happened recently, I've been distracted. Just one chapter today, but I'm trying to get as much writing done as I can this week, so expect a lot more from me.  
> This chapter's shorter, but hopefully y'all enjoy it.

Eden had all but forgotten about the gala until now. What was worse is that all of the tables were assigned and she _had_ to sit with Alastor. Surely he’d be there, and she had to be his date. She didn’t want to do it anymore, but her dress had cost _far_ too much for her to skip out on it. That and she knew that she’d be in more trouble if she skipped the gala all together—and having to face Charlie’s disappointment with her already scared her enough.

Eden quietly delivered her painting to the lobby and put it on the easel where it would be revealed to everyone. She knew her addition _might_ get her in trouble. But with how upset she was, she didn’t care. This was Hell. No denizen in their right mind would be able to survive in Hell without causing just _a little_ trouble. What Eden was doing was nowhere near as bad as what sinners like Angel or Alastor had done. No, they had done _far_ worse things.

Before she could return to her room undetected, though, Eden was caught off guard by Charlie tapping her on the shoulder. Eden turned around abruptly, responding almost sourly. “What?!”

“Oh, sorry. I…just wanted to apologize for being so hard on you last night.”

Eden sighed, calming down. “It’s alright. I just had a bad day, is all.”

“I get that. But hey! The gala is today and it’s gonna be _soooooo_ fun! I can’t wait to see your painting!”

Oh.

Shit.

Hearing Charlie say this put Eden in a slight panic. Suddenly, her little “change” wasn’t a good idea. The problem was that the lobby was actually busy for once, and there was no way for Eden to discreetly remove the painting and fix it again. Not to mention, the mere seconds of changes she made would take _hours_ to paint back over. 

So, she was going to leave it and face the consequences later on.

“I can’t wait for you to see it, either,” Eden responded sheepishly.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nope! Not at all. I’m just in…a bit of a hurry to get ready. Doing my own hair and makeup today. Yeah.”

“Oh, alright. Then go, I’ll see ya later.”

Eden turned and quickly returned to her room, hoping that nothing bad happened while she was away. Fortunately, everything was in its correct place when she returned, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Knowing she didn’t have tons of time at her disposal, Eden got to work on her hair. This time, she didn’t do anything crazy to it. All she did was haphazardly pin a few strands back and toss in a flower clip to make it look less messy. Her makeup was also kept minimal—in fact, if you didn’t spend time staring at her face, you’d never know she had any on.

Then, she intentionally took her sweet time getting dressed. Her gown was a two-piece with a lacy top and a flowy chiffon skirt. She put on only the top and a pair of shorts, then wandered around her room for a while, browsing her phone and stopping to clean corners that didn’t need any cleaning. Before she knew it, it was five minutes to the beginning of the gala. She hastily put on her skirt and heels, then rushed downstairs, nearly spraining her ankle when she missed a step going down the stairs.

One spot was open at her assigned table—right between Alastor and Angel. Right between safety and anxiety. All she had to do was ignore Alastor and only speak to angel. Easy enough, right?

Well, there was one problem—a lot of tension from both Vaggie and Alastor, practically forcing Eden back into silence. Alastor had been slowly shifting himself away from her, and Vaggie never made eye contact with her. When Charlie left the table to welcome her parents to the hotel in front of everyone, the tension only grew. Eden attempted to use her aura to ease it, but a disapproving look from Charlie when she returned shut that down.

Eden had run out of options, and she wanted to run.

Ah, but she couldn’t just leave. Dinner hadn’t even been served yet.

Niffty, being completely oblivious to the situation at large, could tell that something was up and attempted to relax everyone by telling a couple of jokes. However, her attempts proved fruitless as she was ignored by everyone.

Eden barely ate her meal as it was served, instead cutting up most of the remaining food on her plate to make it look eaten. Her appetite was completely gone. But, as far as she knew, nobody really noticed that she had hardly touched anything on her plate.

Alastor attempted to speak to Eden, finally, when dessert was served. While he did, though, she turned to Angel and made small talk with him to try to ignore Alastor. The more Alastor talked to her, the louder she spoke over him. Angel’s visible confusion only added to the fact that he hadn’t been paying as much attention to the two of them as he thought he had been.

But Alastor, not being one to give up when he had a goal in mind, was not going to let up. He remembered that the one thing that caught her interest all that time ago was asking her to dance. So, when music started to play, he figured asking her to dance again would do the trick.

“Eden!” he practically screamed, interrupting her conversation and finally catching her attention. She looked over her shoulder, annoyed.

“What do you want?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me?”

Eden laughed out loud. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I don’t believe I am.”

“After what you did to me last night, after the _week_ I have had, you have the nerve to ask me if I want to dance with you? Well, I’ll tell you this—the answer is _no_. I won’t dance with you. Not until you’ve figured out what it is you want from me, not until you fully come to realize how much I’ve been hurting because of you over the last few months.”

“What exactly have I done, dear?”

“I’m done speaking to you.” Eden turned around and looked up to Angel. “Would you like to dance with me?”

“I, uh…sure,” Angel replied, confused by what he had just witnessed, and caught slightly off-guard by the request. Eden was clearly trying to get herself out of an awkward situation, and Angel was more than willing to help out.

So, he got up and Eden followed him out to the dance floor. Meanwhile, Alastor was confused and…kind of hurt, for once. By this point, everyone had left the table, leaving him completely alone. Whatever feeling he had at this point, it was eating him up and he _had_ to get out. Without being noticed, he went outside onto the balcony and sat on the stairs. By now, it was starting to get dark outside. 

Maybe some solitude was all he needed.

That is, until he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. “There you are.”

“Oh, heh. Hello, Charlie.”

Charlie lifted her dress and sat down next to Alastor. “We’ve been looking for you. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong. I will be just fine.” Surely the perma-smile would mean that Charlie wouldn’t suspect a thing, right?

“You don’t _sound_ fine. Look, I’m not going to ask any questions. Go back inside and to your room. You look exhausted.”

“Fair enough.”

“But I am going to make one request—I know _something_ is going on with you and Eden, and I _need_ you to sit down and talk with her tomorrow. No tricks, no magic.”

“Do you suppose she’ll even listen?”

“If you’re firm but gentle with her, I think she will. You’ve actually been doing well. Don’t mess this up. _Please_.”

“I will do my best, Charlie. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe it is time I retire for the evening.”

Alastor disappeared inside and to his room, leaving Charlie to _seriously_ question if Alastor was going to do the right thing. She really hoped he would.

Really.

\--

The night eventually drew to a close, leaving one last thing to do—reveal the painting to the guests and to Charlie’s parents.

Eden, in her better mood, had completely forgotten about the painting, and now it was _far_ too late. The sheet came off to reveal it, and the smug look she’d gained from knowing what she’d done turned to pure horror as the gasps from the other guests revealed what she had done.

The portrait had remained mostly the same, with everyone in the painting including herself. However, over Alastor’s face, she had painted the word LIAR in big, bright red letters. The paint had dripped down the entire canvas, nearly drowning poor Niffty’s face as well. Niffty wasn’t even involved in this.

Eden could hear Vaggie mumbling in Spanish behind her, and that was when it really set in that she had gone too far. In her embarrassment, she kicked off her heels and picked them up to make a speedy getaway to her room.

Her whole body felt like pins and needles. A hot shower and a change of wardrobe did nothing to help. She spent all night—even into the next morning, shaking uncontrollably in the corner of her bed. No crying or yelling, just…shaking.

Something was changing inside of her, and she didn’t even know as much. Nobody, including herself, had any idea of what she was about to unleash.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the turns have tabled.

Eden had stayed in the same position in the same location for the entire evening, trembling. She couldn’t figure out why her body was doing what it was doing, and had been completely unable to move from that position. She’d been experiencing hot flashes which had caused her body to become drenched with sweat. Her normally bouncy hair had fallen completely flat, some pieces sticking out in weird directions. Her head was _pounding_ since, unbeknownst to her, a tiny pair of horns had begun to grow, and were now barely visible from underneath her hair.

_Something_ was happening to her, and nobody was expecting it to happen so suddenly.

Alastor, having contemplated exactly what he wanted to say, decided to finally confront Eden about her behavior after breakfast that morning. Her lack of presence that morning didn’t shock anyone, but it was concerning that nobody had heard from her at all—not even Charlie. Taking a deep breath, Alastor knocked on her door. When Eden failed to respond, Alastor decided it’d be best to just phase through the door and interrupt her privacy.

He was not prepared for anything that was about to happen.

“Eden?” He called, trying to hide the fact that he was actually terrified. “Hello? Can you hear me?”

He heard a series of incoherent mumbling, but that was it.

“What was that? I can’t hear you.”

“What do you _want_?” Eden demanded, turning around sharply. Alastor jumped when he saw Eden’s face. Her eyes had turned to empty voids—one white and one black—with her irises now merely dots in the center of her eyes. She was also _smiling_ , but the kind of smile that signaled that it probably would’ve been better to leave as soon as possible.

But Alastor stuck around. He was going to have this talk no matter what state Eden was in. Besides, he’d encountered much worse before. This was _nothing_ to him.

At least, that’s what he tried to convince himself.

“Well, dear, I…heh. Just wanted to come here to address your behavior over the last few days.”

“My behavior? **My behavior?!** ” Eden’s voice sounded _different_. It was undoubtedly her voice, but there was just the faintest distortion to it—sort of like a toy whose batteries were running low. “You put me through _hell_ and you to discuss _my_ behavior?!”

“Well, color me _offended_! I have treated you with nothing but respect these last few months.”

Eden grabbed Alastor’s bowtie and, in a display of unreal strength, she pulled him down to her level. “You lie. _You lie_.”

“I…Heh…” Alastor began to sweat with how nervous he had become. He had nothing else to say.

“ **Talk to me** ,” Eden demanded. Alastor couldn’t respond. Eden’s tremors became more vigorous, and her vision began to double. On the outside, she was about to murder. On the inside, she knew _exactly_ what was about to happen.

“I uh, I must go!” Alastor said, somehow managing to free himself from Eden’s grasp. He reached the door and prematurely felt safe as he turned the knob and opened the door. However, he was stopped by the lights going out followed by a breeze that damn near knocked him off his feet.

When he saw how Eden looked now, he wanted to run but _couldn’t_. He was mesmerized. The creature in front of him was undoubtedly Eden, but…was it? She now towered over him, standing at least twelve feet tall—and the horns that now protruded at full length from her head added another foot and a half at least. Her dress had torn open from the additional height, now exposing part of her stomach. Her eyes were now completely vacant, but with an ominous glow that illuminated the entire room. She also now sported a pair of gazelle legs—deep blueish grey on bottom and snow white on the top—with actual hooves.

Alastor was impressed…until the vines came out. At this point, he was trapped by his own fascination, both from amazement and slightly out of fear. The vines grew from all parts of her body, wrapping around her limbs and horns and eventually approaching Alastor. They had a mind of their own.

He would’ve been find had they not been so quick. He tried to run when he felt a vine crawl under his pants leg and begin to wrap itself around it. Then the other leg. Then both hands. Surely this would be all.

Unfortunately, there was one part of his body that was left for the vines to reach. Just when he thought this couldn’t get any worse, a vine crept up his back and around his neck. Then, like a snake ending its prey’s life, the vines constricted all around him, cutting off his circulation in all directions. The tables had turned— _he_ was the one facing erasure at this moment.

And there was nothing that could be done about it—Alastor was about to be eliminated from existence all because he had confronted Eden at the wrong time. He knew his life was officially over.

That is, until he felt a tiny pair of hands wrap around his body and pull him out of the vines’ constrictive grasp. Alastor tumbled to the floor in the hallway and stared into the room, Eden’s eyes and the torn ends of the vines that had just been holding him being the only things visible. Those vines had begun to recede back into the room.

“Save yourself _now_ ,” Vaggie said, breathing heavily from having just saved Alastor’s ass from imminent erasure. That decision was one she never thought she’d have to make, but losing Alastor would have caused more problems than either of them wanted to admit.

Alastor stood up and brushed himself off, still in shock from what had just happened. Vaggie was losing her patience quickly.

“ _Go_ ,” she demanded. “I can handle this.”

After Alastor had left, Vaggie burst into the room, spear in hand, ready to fight. However, the problem at hand was a _lot_ larger than she had anticipated. “Eden!” she shouted, trying to keep her confidence despite the fact that she _could_ end up in the same position as Alastor and never make it out. “You need to stop this.”

Eden didn’t respond, but instead, kept staring at Vaggie with an evil smirk plastered across her face. If she really wanted to, she would’ve choked Vaggie, too. The only thing stopping her was that she could _feel_ herself getting weaker again, and knew she’d be transitioning back to her normal self soon.

As if someone had snapped their fingers, Eden’s form went back to normal and she collapsed to the floor, her dress still torn and stretched out around her. She was breathing heavily, trying to collect herself to stand up.

“What the hell was that?!” Vaggie cried, still shaken by what she’d seen.

“I-I dunno…!” Eden gasped, realizing she’d finally had her transformation. “What happened?”

“Never mind what happened. We need to talk.”

“About what?” Eden stood up and sat on her bed. Vaggie stayed exactly where she was—just a few feet away, enough to make a quick escape if necessary.

“Your behavior these past few weeks has been _awful_ , Eden.”

_I know._

“And?”

“You need to _stop_.”

“I…don’t know how.”

“Look, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I know you’re trying to frame Alastor. Well, I hate to break it to you, but he hasn’t done _anything_ wrong. Not one single thing. You’re making _him_ overwhelmed, which is saying _a lot_ considering…it’s Alastor.”

“Wait so…you trust him now?”

“What makes you think that? _No_ , I still don’t trust him. I can’t ever trust him. Not after…what he did to me.”

“What…did he do?”

“Eden, do you _really_ want to know what happened to my eye?”

Before Eden could answer, Vaggie pulled her hair aside and slid up her eye patch. Underneath was a vacant void, her red X still covering it. Eden gasped. “Wh…what did he do?”

“I met him when I first came to Hell, and he tried to take me under his wing. I was naïve and let him control me, until I wanted my own freedom. Then, when I tried to leave, he attacked me. He took my eye, and I don’t know what he did with it afterward—and I really don’t _want_ to know. Eden, this is why I was so unsure about you getting close with him. Despite your own mistakes and despite how he’s been with you, he’s _still_ not the softie you’ve been painting him as.”

“I…I don’t believe you.”

“What? That he took my eye or that you’re idealizing him?”

“B…both.”

“Why would I lie about that? Eden, you’re _losing_ it! I don’t know _how_ you expect to be redeemed at this point, but good luck getting there now.” Vaggie turned on her heel and left without saying a word, slamming the door on her way out.

Eden had forgotten what it felt like to feel this empty. At this point, she knew that she had completely fucked up, and digging her way out of this hole would be damn near impossible. She had been trying _so hard_ not to let this happen again, and it still did.

Fuck, the fact that she had even survived an extermination was sheer luck. She knew she shouldn’t have survived that.

She wished she hadn’t.

For the next several hours, Eden lay in bed curled up in a ball contemplating her next move. One thing was certain, though: She was not going to stay at the Hotel.

So, what exactly could she do? Begging for forgiveness wasn’t an option—that, she knew. She could find a nice cottage to stay in, but where would that be? Everywhere outside of the Hotel was _dangerous_ for her, since she had no idea how to defend herself other than through extreme stress.

Then again, this could be her chance to prove that she could go outside the Hotel and survive. Sure, it wasn’t _safe_ for her, but she definitely knew she could do it. If she left late enough, absolutely nobody could stop her. The only thing she would leave behind was a note indicating where she was going in case she did decide to come back, but to not go out and find her.

Note left, clothes changed, and, late that night, Eden left to start this convoluted existence all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the last one *for a while* because I'm going on vacation from Wednesday-Saturday and I am not bringing my laptop with me. I didn't wanna leave you guys on a cliffhanger but I also can't exactly leave off at a less exciting point because the next several chapters are going to be a got damn ROLLER COASTER.   
> Might have a double update on Monday depending on how much I can get done this weekend. Dunno.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang discovers Eden is missing and an unlikely duo sets out to find her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally have no excuse this time for no updates.
> 
> Almost there.
> 
> Enjoy.

Eden realized very quickly why Vaggie wouldn’t let her leave the hotel unattended.

The forest in Hell was treacherous. Eden had gone hiking before, when she was alive, but the forests on Earth were nowhere _near_ this bad. Thinking that she’d be caught before she made it in as far as she had gone, she didn’t think to bring anything to tie her hair up. Now, it was all flattened down and sticking to the back of her neck by the sweat that had begun to form all over thanks to the incredible humidity of the area. It being hot didn’t help her, either—she could hardly breathe, and with no inhaler, this could only end poorly for her.

She also had not prepared enough for how rough the terrain would be. She only owned one pair of pants— leggings—that had already gotten a hole in them from an unfortunate run-in with some pointy trees. In addition to this, Eden was met with the uncertainty of whatever creatures lurked between the trees. It was still dark at this point, but the trees were _so thick_ that it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night. All she knew was that her flashlight would only last for so long, and that she could hear the sounds of a wide array of different creatures that could very easily erase her.

But no, she could survive this.

If she could survive an extermination when she had barely arrived in Hell, she could survive this.

\--

It was incredibly odd that Eden hadn’t come downstairs by the time breakfast had ended. Most sinners within the hotel walls knew her to be an early bird, and that she would only wake up this late if she was ill. That, and there was _no way_ she could still be upset by now. She forgave everyone way too easily. So, where was she? Had she overslept? This just wasn’t like her.

By noon, she still hadn’t come downstairs, and this sparked concern between all of her friends. When she failed to turn up for lunch, a massive search of the _entire_ hotel began, and nobody would give up until Eden was found. Vaggie, in her legitimate concern, feared the worst. Self-erasure was _extremely_ difficult, but not out of the question if you knew what to do. Eden was definitely smart enough to figure out how to do it—but the question is, _would she_? Though Vaggie never brought it up with anyone else, the dread of finding her soulless body in her room was too much to bear.

In her anxiety, she snapped at _everyone_ , even Charlie, at the mere _suggestion_ that Eden might have left the hotel by herself. Eden was far too afraid to go out there alone, so why would now be any different? Yes, she had finally had her transformation, and revealed her true power. But the fact was—and both Vaggie and Alastor could agree on this—she was still defenseless as she didn’t know how to control her powers and use them when she needed to.

Without a doubt, there were few ways that this scenario could end well for everyone.

Still, the search continued, and very little progress was made over the two hours following lunch.

\--

Eden had begun to regret leaving as the forest grew darker and thicker. The foliage had become far more terrifying the further she got. She still didn’t _fully_ know where she was going, but she realized that her chances of making it out alive—regardless of whether or not she decided to turn around—were getting slimmer. Yet, despite her need to turn around and return to Pentagram City, something kept luring her deeper into the woods.

Something far more sinister than anything she had encountered yet.

Suddenly, without warning, she felt something sharp wrap around all of her limbs and her neck, attaching itself to her body with thorns that made her skin burn with pain. Whatever this thing was continued to wrap itself around her body, slowly tightening its grip on her. She tried to wriggle free, but the more she moved, the tighter the vines got on her body.

And, very slowly, she felt herself becoming weaker. Her efforts to free herself was useless. Despite trying to stay alert, she was losing consciousness quickly. This was it.

\--

As the search in the hotel continued, hope was slowly dwindling. It was seeming more and more likely that Eden was gone for good. Despite having checked every inch of the hotel, Eden was nowhere to be found.

“Well, she’s gotta be _somewhere_!” Angel cried, defeated. “You’re positive she wasn’t in her room, Vags?”

“I’m sure. I mean…we can check again, maybe she was just busy somewhere. But…eh, I doubt it.”

Vaggie grabbed the master key, then Angel followed her to Eden’s room to check it one last time. Certainly, they’d find something there. They searched her room one final time, leaving no inch unsearched. While Vaggie was searching the bathroom, she heard Angel call out in a tone that left her concerned.

“Hey Vaggie?”

Vaggie left the bathroom and spotted Angel, holding a piece of paper. His shoulders were hunched over as if he was about to cry. “What did you find?” Vaggie asked, afraid of the answer she would receive.

“I…uh, this,” Angel said, turning around and handing the paper to Vaggie. Vaggie read the note, discovering exactly where Eden had gone.

_To whoever finds this letter,_

_I’ve left the hotel. I no longer feel that I am wanted here, and have decided to start a new afterlife elsewhere in Hell. In case you decide to come find me—which, I doubt any of you will—I am heading for Imp City by foot. Don’t try to contact me. You won’t find me._

_Sincerely,_

_Eden_

“This is _not_ good,” Vaggie panicked.

“I mean…maybe she found a bus?”

“ _By foot_ , Angel! And do you know how to get to Imp City from here?”

“Not exactly.”

“Through the forest? I don’t even know what kind of shit could be in the forest. But I know one thing for certain—Eden will _not_ survive there.”

“So…what?”

“Someone has to go find her, and if it has to be me, then it has to be me. I’m going, Angel, and I’m willing to risk erasure if it means getting Eden back safely.”

“Vaggie, you can’t do that. Not alone, anyway.”

“You want to come with me then?”

“Ha! Fuck no.”

Vaggie groaned, then headed for the door. “Come with me and bring the letter.”

\--

Everyone but Alastor had been around to read the letter and try to figure out how to get Eden back. Unfortunately, Vaggie was still alone. Of her and Charlie, at least one of them had to stay back to keep order in the hotel, and Vaggie felt that Eden’s leaving was at least partially her fault. She wanted to do right by Eden, so she insisted on going to look for her. Charlie, though, wouldn’t let her go alone. “You’re not going to survive out there, Vaggie, and I care too much about you to let you go alone.”

“Well, I don’t know who else can go with me!”

Suddenly, the air grew thin as a familiar pompous shitlord appeared from a dark corner of the room. “I’ll go with you.”

“ _What?!”_ everyone cried.

“Is this a joke?” Vaggie asked. “This has to be a joke.”

“Not at all, my dear. I agree with your sentiments and if any of us shall go retrieve our dear Eden, it should be the both of us. I believe we have both wronged her, and it would be best if we were the ones to go find her.”

“I…well, I can’t argue with that.”

“So, what do you say, dear Vagatha?”

“ _Vaggie_.”

“Whatever. Vaggie, what do you think?”

Vaggie looked around the room at her friends and girlfriend, to Alastor, then to her own feet. She was about to make a very difficult decision. On one hand, she could choose to trust Alastor again to partner up with her and the very man who had betrayed her trust so many years ago, or she could deny his offer and face something much, much worse.

The room was silent other than the gentle click of the metal on the soles of Alastor’s shoe as he tapped his foot, anticipating an answer from Vaggie. Vaggie looked up at Alastor, now confident in her decision.

“Come with me, then.”

Alastor’s smile grew, satisfied with the answer that Vaggie had given him. The others were shocked that she was giving him a chance, but in such a dire moment, it was what needed to happen. With a snap of his fingers, both her and Alastor had been changed into what appeared to be vintage hunting attire. Vaggie didn’t question it. She had made her decision and that was final.

As the two of them turned to leave, Charlie turned Vaggie around and held her close. “Please be safe.”

“I’m going to try, hon. No guarantees with the forest being how it is, but…I will try.”

“I’m proud of you, Vaggie. I really am.”

Vaggie sighed. “I’m doing this for everyone. For you, Angel, Husk and Niffty…even Alastor. Whatever happens, I promise Eden will be back here, safe and sound.”

“I…” Charlie had no words left to say.

“Don’t worry too much about me, please. Okay?”

“I’ll try.”

Vaggie turned and met Alastor at the door, who had been waiting patiently for her to follow him. When they made it far enough away from the hotel, Vaggie groaned.

“I still hate you.”


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vaggie makes a bold decision that you may never expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha writer's block go brrrr

The walk toward the woods was incredibly silent besides Vaggie’s groans of irritation as Alastor hummed show tunes, more than likely to irritate her. He knew as much and would hum louder the more she groaned, all until she finally snapped and told him to stop it. He did stop.

For a minute.

Then, he continued, and Vaggie realized that she had lost the battle. She was just going to have to put up with Alastor’s shenanigans until they found Eden. That is, _if_ they found Eden. At this point, it was growing increasingly likely that they weren’t going to find her alive if they did find her, and timing was _crucial_. In fact, Vaggie was kicking herself over the fact that she didn’t think to search Eden’s room more thoroughly the first time she went in to look for her. Had she done that in the first place, they could’ve bought themselves a lot of time and possibly have found Eden safely.

Then came the question of whether or not Eden even wanted to come back to the hotel. Although it really wasn’t clear with Alastor, Vaggie felt guilty for being so harsh with Eden when she really didn’t need to hear anything she told her. Right now, nobody was really innocent, but that was hardly the point.

Eden had put herself in a potentially dangerous situation by leaving the hotel alone to go somewhere far more dangerous than Pentagram City—and she knew as much. Eden was _extremely_ vulnerable, and this made her an easier target to demons that would be far less easy on her. Up until this point, Eden was lucky to have survived this long—especially in the same building as one of the most dangerous demons in Hell.

In fact, it still wasn’t clear _why_ Eden had come to Hell, but there had to be a reason for it. After seeing this other side to Eden, Vaggie became doubtful of how easy Eden would be to redeem. At first, she really seemed like an easy fix—just a few weeks of therapy and treatment, and out she went. Her refusal to speak was one problem, but she overcame that to an extent. The lashing out was another problem as a whole. The last week or so, Vaggie had come to learn something about Eden that made her realize that rehabilitation was going to be a lot harder than planned.

Eden was _very_ stubborn at times, and was going to get what _she_ wanted regardless of how she had to do it.

The worst thing was that every time Eden cried that week, both Charlie and Vaggie agreed that it seemed genuine. Even if they asked her why, she refused to say anything. It was clear that she was afraid of _something_ , but Vaggie couldn’t figure out what it was. Sure, Alastor could still be _incredibly_ annoying, but having Eden so bravely get close enough to him was really good for him. Alastor was a much bigger issue to tackle, but Eden had actually calmed him down a considerable amount.

He even started showering every day and no longer smelled like a slaughterhouse.

Vaggie was still reluctant to admit that Alastor had done _nothing_ wrong, but it was the truth. She even noticed that Alastor was trying hard to disguise his guilt, but he had been failing at keeping that smile as big as he normally had it. Vaggie could tell that he felt _horrible_ about this whole situation, as much as he didn’t want to show it.

She figured that, at this point, it wouldn’t hurt to ask. She was stuck with him for an indefinite amount of time, and it was probably going to be worse off if neither of them spoke to each other for the entire search.

“H-hey Alastor? Can I ask you something?”

“You may.”

“Are you…are you okay? And be _honest_ , because I know you’re not as happy as you’re trying to make me think.”

“Well, you’ve caught me, Vagatha.”

“Hm?”

“You see, I have been out of sorts since last week. First, seeing Eden so down about how occupied I was with the show and not herself. Sure she was being quite the bother to me, but I…must admit that I felt quite bad about not being able to spend as much time with her. I don’t believe I have ever felt this sort of feeling before.”

“So you’re feeling guilty then?”

“I suppose that’s what you could call it. But there was one other fiasco that both of us had to witness, which—”

“Yeah,” Vaggie chuckled, “Not exactly the calmest moment.”

There was a long period of awkward silence between the two as the forest came into clearer view. As they approached a dark opening, Vaggie stopped in her tracks. “Alastor?”

“Yes, Vagatha?” Alastor asked somewhat smugly. In the back of his mind, he knew what was about to happen.

Vaggie sighed. “I can’t undo the several years of hurt you’ve given me, and I can’t undo the stress you’ve caused me. You hurt me a lot, and you know as much, but I am going to _very cautiously_ ,” Vaggie emphasized the last bit, “give you one more chance. Charlie knows a lot more than most people give her credit for and…I guess you’ve shown me that you are capable of being decent sometimes.”

Alastor said nothing, but his smile grew.

“Can we try again?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“This is only under the condition that you keep up the progress you’ve made and don’t fuck up anymore. I rarely give second chances, so this is it for you. No more tricks or deception, no more hurting anyone. Got it?”

“Sounds fair.” 

With that, the pair entered the woods, completely unaware of what they might find.

\--

Charlie had been on edge the entire afternoon. The fact that Vaggie and Alastor hadn’t returned yet only meant one thing- they were in _deep_. Charlie had never dared to venture into the forests of Hell alone. The only times she could remember ever going into the forest, she was with her father, and they didn’t go in deep. All they did was play hide-and-seek.

Her father always cheated, but in a way, his tricks made Charlie feel safe.

Charlie knew as much that neither Vaggie nor Alastor had the power to ward off any dangerous creature that lurked among the trees. The only way that she could’ve given them protection was to give each of them a vial of her blood to hang around their necks—a move she didn’t dare to do knowing Alastor. Despite his newfound calmness, Charlie didn’t trust him with even the faintest amount of blood around. One whiff could send that man into a carnal state.

It absolutely wasn’t a good idea, but she couldn’t stop them from going. They could defend themselves to an extent. Eden couldn’t, and that worried her far more than anything else.

Still, Charlie was a nervous wreck through the evening, at first denying that Eden could be in danger. She eventually realized the possibility that none of them would make it back, and it affected her deeply. Angel had no choice but to stay with Charlie through the night, bringing Fat Nuggets around to keep her comfort.

Angel had seen Charlie sad before, but right now, she was having a full-on crisis. It broke his heart seeing her in such distress. She always seemed to have it together, even when she was upset. She was very clearly in pain right now from how upset she was, and at this point, all he really could do was comfort her in any way he could.

She didn’t reject it, either.

The only part that Angel was quite averse to was that Charlie was awake through the night, never fully falling asleep before she woke up in a panic again. Angel valued his time to sleep, but he’d also been in Charlie’s position as far as emotional pain was concerned, and he wanted to make up for not letting her be there for him when he was being abused by Valentino all that time ago.

He, too, hoped that Vaggie and Alastor would return safely with Eden.

\--

Vaggie and Alastor had spent nearly all night trying to fight their way through the thick of the woods. By the time the sun rose (Alastor knew by instinct alone), both of them were drenched in sweat and exhausted. They both agreed that it might be good to stop and rest soon.

However, that thought was completely eliminated when the scenery of the forest changed again. The trees became less thick and the smallest amount of hazy red light broke through the leaves. It seemed almost peaceful; very serene and almost fairytale-like. They continued further, thinking they’d find a good spot to set up camp and take a short rest to recharge for the remainder of their journey.

This was completely changed by a discovery that made their blood run icy cold—the last thing they wanted to find.

They’d found Eden, alright.

She was wrapped up in some scary-looking vines, ones that seemed like they’d be pretty easy to knock down. What was impossible to tell was if she was even alive anymore. Her already pale skin was as white as a ghost’s; her head hung limply, allowing her long hair to cover her face entirely. She was completely lifeless, looking more like a ragdoll than a demon.

Certainly freeing her from the vines would be an easy task, but the pair would quickly realize that this task was far easier said than done.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor finally meets something that he can't beat.
> 
> Or...can he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today, but packed.
> 
> Mild TW for gore?

Alastor was quick to examine the vines from afar, noting their deep blueish-green hue and alarmingly thick thorns. Vaggie, having never ventured into the forest before, nearly flipped when Alastor got a bit too close for his liking. He had assured her that he “knew the flora and fauna of the Pentagram’s forests well” and that he knew how to properly handle a potentially dangerous creature such as these vines.

“Creature?!” Vaggie exclaimed. Surely these things weren’t alive the way that an animal was.

“Perhaps _creature_ wasn’t the right term. Either way, these vines are an invasive species and _incredibly_ dangerous. They have the potential to drain a soul and are nearly impossible to get out of your skin.”

“So how are we gonna handle this then?!”

“Hah, funny story about that…”

“ _Alastor_ …”

“I’ve never encountered these before—only read about them. I suppose I could try something…”

Alastor backed up, pushing Vaggie back enough to leave room for him to unleash his full fury. A tight clench of his fist attempted to free Eden from the vines, but a force field formed around her, preventing Alastor from doing anything more.

“Huh. That is a bit peculiar…” Alastor examined the vines more.

“Well, don’t just stand there! _Do something!!_ ”

“I _am_ doing something. I just need to examine the fibers of these pesky things and see if I can figure out how—”

“Alastor, we _don’t_ have time for this. Eden could be close to being erased and you’re down there examining every last particle…”

“If I’m going to use my power on this—”

“ _Alastor_ , this is your _girlfriend_ we’re talking about. _Do something!_ ”

“Just a minute.”

Vaggie groaned, producing a dagger. She launched it at the vines, hoping it would break them and at least partially free Eden. Instead, they quickly caught and formed around its handle and blade, leaving Vaggie in a state of panic. That thing could cut through _anything._ It appeared that Vaggie had finally met something that the dagger couldn’t cut through.

Alastor, in the meantime, had figured out how the vines’ fibers worked, and tried something new with his powers—this time, something that would use up more of his energy. Still, nothing happened. No matter what he tried over the next several minutes, nothing worked. He finally retreated to a tree stump and held his head, defeated. “I’ve lost.”

Vaggie stood beside him, sharing the feeling of defeat with him. She realized very quickly that if Alastor couldn’t defeat the vines, then nobody could. Eden was complete toast at this point, and the pair might’ve had to leave her there to die.

That is, until Vaggie had an eleventh-hour stroke of genius that she was surprised someone like Alastor had never thought of before. Noting the tree stump that the deer was sitting on, Vaggie’s face lit up. “Alastor! I have an idea!”

“No, no, dear. It’s useless.”

“I promise it’s not! We’ve been targeting the wrong part of the vines.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“What if we knock down the trees?”

“Hmmm…”

“I figured something out. The trees harness the vines. But…if we knock the trees down in two different directions—”

“You are correct, Vaggie.”

“What? Have you known about that this _entire time—_ ”

“No…well…yes, but that was a fact that I’ve forgot. You see, the fibers on these vines are nowhere near strong enough to survive a tree being toppled—”

“Good, so we’re on the same page then.”

“Exactly. I will take the tree on the right and you, the one on the left.”

“Sounds good.” Vaggie materialized a hatchet and approached her tree, immediately beginning to chop it down. Meanwhile, Alastor used his power to create an invisible blade of sorts, sending it directly to the opposite tree. Both of them managed to knock the trees down at the same time, causing the vines to tear, shriveling up into a brittle form of their live selves. Eden began to fall toward the ground like a sack of rocks, and Alastor ran underneath to catch her.

Seeing her close up gave Alastor and Vaggie a better idea of how deep the thorns had gone into her skin. “We don’t have time to fix all of these. Hold her still while I wrap her arms and legs.”

Alastor felt relief as he noticed Eden’s body was still warm. However, she looked sickly from however long she had been trapped. Eden’s body was covered in hundreds of tiny puncture wounds, some with bruising around them. He then watched as Vaggie carefully wrapped Eden’s arms and legs in several thick layers of gauze, then taped each all the way up and down to keep them secure. “Now,” she said as she cut the final layer of bandages on Eden’s right arm, “We need to get back to the Hotel as quickly as possible. I think Eden is still alive, but we still have to clean her up and get her resting.”

After packing her backpack back up, Vaggie lead the way out of the forest hurriedly. Alastor ran behind her, moving Eden to be on his back so that he could move as fast as he could. At this point, there was no time left to lose. Eden could still be erased from this, even though she was now freed.

If they could get back to the hotel in time, Eden still had a chance at surviving. Alastor had only heard stories about vines like that, but he knew that they were _brutal_. Most nature guides for Hell never explained how to properly defeat them, but did explain that they were extremely unforgiving, even if one were to survive an encounter—most didn’t.

Eden was strong, though. She was a fighter. If she could survive an extermination, then she could survive this.

At least, that was what Alastor _hoped._


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while since I've updated this. My schedule went from 0-100 SUPER fast so I haven't had time to sit down and write. We are almost at the end, though. I am hoping to get this done soon, though!

No time could be wasted at this point. Eden had to be treated as soon as she was back at the hotel, and even stopping for a rest could still mean erasure for her. Neither Vaggie nor Alastor ran at all, but there was still a sense of urgency with their pace, as well as caution, since there could still be something lurking in the woods that could end all three of them for good.

Alastor thought as he walked, trailing a few feet behind Vaggie.

For the first time in literal decades, he was exhausted. He knew that at some point, his true age would catch up with him and he’d start lagging behind. He didn’t often use his powers to the extent that he just had, but with no time to rest, he wasn’t sure how he’d fare.

Still, he was Alastor. He didn’t give up _that_ easily. He really wanted to try hard to hide his exhaustion from Vaggie. Vaggie was still holding up well, though it was clear that she was emotionally drained. Had Alastor had the energy, he would’ve been singing and dancing around Vaggie, if only to keep his own spirits up—and Vaggie knew as much. She, however, knew that her temper was short at this point, and even a small annoyance could set her off.

At the same time, Vaggie did _slightly_ hope that Alastor was doing okay. He’d never show how he was really feeling, but Vaggie could tell that he had had enough. For one, the entire situation both of them faced was entirely unexpected. Before all of this, Vaggie never dreamed of teaming up with Alastor. She still wasn’t his biggest fan, especially knowing her history with him, but she had learned a lot about him in such a short time that made her see him differently.

For one, without him even changing his facial expressions, Vaggie knew that he was highly emotional, just like she was. The thing was that he was quite good at hiding it to those who didn’t know him that well. However, Vaggie could see _right_ through him- she always could. It was always the tiny, almost microscopic movements in his face that told everything. She could tell when he was angry, when he was excited, when he was about to pull a prank—he was an open book in that regard.

Most importantly, though, she could tell just how much he loved Eden. She could tell from the start, while he was messing with her, while everyone was trying to keep him away from Eden—even her. It was painfully obvious, but she knew he hadn’t felt like _this_ in such a long time. He had no idea how to handle it—and in all honesty, once they were left alone together, it seemed best to cautiously let Alastor handle Eden on his own.

It was still a huge shock to Vaggie that he could suddenly become so _gentle_ , and really mean it.

Perhaps it was because Eden would’ve been _too_ easy to antagonize. Despite everything she’d shown she could do; Eden was utterly helpless. To Alastor, she was an easy target, and it wouldn’t have entertained him as much. As for how he fell in _love_ with her…that was anyone’s guess. Vaggie didn’t want to worry about what twisted things must’ve been going through Alastor’s head that led him to this point.

As much as Vaggie hated to admit it, Alastor was now the one that might get redeemed before Eden did. Yet she knew that at this point, Alastor wouldn’t go anywhere until Eden had proven herself redeemable. As sweet as she was, Eden was in Hell for a reason.

So was Alastor.

So was Vaggie.

Vaggie, lost in thought, was shaken from her daydream by an audible grunt behind her, followed by the soft _thud_ of a body landing on the ground. Alastor, in his exhaustion, had rolled his ankle, miraculously landing on the ground without dropping Eden. Vaggie whipped around, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, dear. Just a little misstep.”

Vaggie could tell Alastor was actually in pain, even rushing over to check him. Sure enough, his ankle was starting to swell. “You can’t walk on that,” she said.

Alastor looked Vaggie directly in the eyes. “I will continue to walk.”

“Can’t you just teleport us back?”

“Won’t do, dear. I must ration my energy if we want to get back to the hotel.”

Vaggie groaned. Alastor may have changed a ton, but he was still stubborn. 

Still, he was right. They had to keep going, no matter what happened. Eden’s existence was on the line.

\--

Charlie had lost track of how long it had been. All she knew is that her and Angel were attached at the hip at this point, and that neither of them had slept in _days_. Too concerned about everyone that was gone—Vaggie, Eden, even Alastor. By now, Charlie was losing hope that any of them would ever make it back. Even telling herself that things would be fine just didn’t help. She knew _very_ well how dangerous the forests of Hell could be. At this point, it’d take a miracle for anyone to come back alive.

Very late one night, though, Charlie and Angel were startled by the door opening and three figures entering, though one was being worn like a backpack. Charlie thought she was hallucinating at first. Angel, being Angel, _knew_ it wasn’t the drugs—no, both of them were seeing the exact same thing.

Alastor limped into the hotel and laid Eden’s limp body out on the floor, allowing Vaggie to speedily grab what she needed to clean out every single one of Eden’s puncture wounds as well as giving Alastor what he needed to nurse his ankle—as much as he insisted it was fine. Charlie, in the meantime, had burst into heavy sobs, finally releasing the stress that had built up for the better part of…four days now, was it? Meanwhile, Angel stood back and watched everything unfold, partially relieved that everyone had made it back and partially overwhelmed by seeing…everything that was happening in front of him.

Vaggie returned, handing Alastor a bag of ice. Alastor reluctantly took it and put it on his ankle, observing Vaggie as she began to clean out each of the wounds on Eden’s body. “How do you know she’s even alive?” Charlie asked, confused and doubtful that Eden could be saved.

“She’s still warm. Feel.”

Charlie placed her hand gingerly on Eden’s face, seeing that, while it was ghost-white, there was some warmth to it. Her chest shallowly rose up and down, bringing hope back to Charlie that she would be okay.

After Vaggie finished cleaning and bandaging Eden’s body, she looked around for help. “Angel. Take Eden up to her room. Make sure her head and feet are elevated above her chest, and she’s under a blanket.”

Angel scooped his niece up into his arms. “Will do.” He then disappeared into the hallway.

Vaggie then approached Alastor, albeit extremely cautiously. “You keep watch over Eden.”

“I was already planning on it, dear.”

Vaggie placed her hand on Alastor’s shoulder and, to her surprise, he didn’t flinch. “You’re really not all that bad anymore.”

“You think so, dear?”

Vaggie nodded. Charlie stood up and began heading upstairs, silently trying to get Vaggie to follow her. Vaggie stood up and began walking away. Before she reached the stairs, she paused, turning around with a slight smile on her face.

“I know so.”

Alastor, perplexed, waited a moment before he, too decided to go upstairs to sit with Eden until she woke up. When he made it to her room, it hit him how awful she looked right now. Pale, bandaged up. Her normally pink cheeks were devoid of any color. He approached her and took her hand—icy cold. He also realized that Vaggie had never changed her clothes. So, he rummaged through Eden’s dresser to find something, anything.

Black stretchy shorts. Black t-shirt. He then manifested one of his hunting flannels (that he never wore for hunting, anyway) and put it on her, then brought out the same pink blanket that he’d put on her before, covering her with it before putting her comforter back over her. As he did this, she hummed quietly, still unaware of where she was or who was with her.

Though he was still quite upset with her, Alastor still loved her, and he needed her to know that. Taking one of her icy hands, he kissed her knuckles softly.

“I love you, sweetheart.”


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden has a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Chapter contains mild violence/disturbing and distressing imagery. Read at your own risk.

Alastor stayed by Eden’s side for the rest of the night, occasionally rubbing her arm and talking to her as if she were conscious. He even read the book he’d been heavily fixated on to her, though he wasn’t entirely sure if she could hear him. As the hours passed, her body became slightly warmer. Occasionally, he would kiss her and tell her he loved her. Alastor couldn’t remember the last time he felt this much pain—enough to the point where he felt nothing at all once again. Perhaps this had been what he was dealing with all along.

Perhaps he had been hurting for so long that, despite the charming smile he kept up for all of these years, he had numbed himself. No emotions whatsoever beyond the occasional excitement from watching someone being torn apart limb by limb or, more recently, the sickening feeling he felt in his chest whenever he saw his precious Eden.

Now, seeing her in the state she was in, he wanted to cry. Maybe he should’ve kept up what he was doing before him and Eden were going steady. He could’ve avoided all of this heartache; he could’ve avoided the humiliation that some sinners had made him feel. At the same time, Eden was the light of his afterlife, and he didn’t want to let that go. So what if others didn’t like what he’d become? So what if he was ridiculed and taunted for who he chose to be his significant other?

He _had_ made both Charlie and Vaggie very proud of him, after all, had he not?

Alastor paused and put his book down, lightly rubbing circles onto Eden’s arm and resting his head on her shoulder. Could she hear him? Did she know he was there?

\--

_Eden opened her eyes, realizing that she was still in the forest, trapped in vines. However, she was now able to free herself, completely devoid of injury to her body. As her dainty feet hit the ground, she noticed something in front of her that made her stomach tie itself up in knots._

_Alastor, face down in a mud puddle, with a spear sticking out of his back._

_Eden approached his body, removing the spear as hot tears poured out of her eyes. She leaned over his body, not caring that the hem of her white gown was now in the mud. As she did, she began to sob._

_Alastor’s body was cold. He wasn’t coming back for her. At this point all she could think of was that this never would’ve happened if she had just stayed at the hotel and faced the consequences of her actions. Alastor would not have come to save her in such dangerous circumstances had he not loved her so much._

_Eden then noticed an odd sensation on her back. Almost as if she needed to scratch an itch, she tensed this newfound muscle, allowing a grand set of wings to wrap themselves around her and Alastor’s body. This, she knew, would do absolutely nothing, but it felt right in that moment._

_Just then, she heard an unfamiliar voice behind her._

_“Darling?”_

_Eden peeked up from the body, her face soaked with tears and flushed. “D-do I…do I know you?” she asked, rubbing her eyes._

_“You sure do, sweet girl.” The man approached her, and it was then Eden began to examine him further. His golden skin and deep chocolate hair didn’t ring a bell. Instead, what gave it away was his suit—the same as Alastor’s, but far less ripped up, and it was white and gold—every part from his bow tie down to his shoes, which were white with gold caps. He even had a gold plated microphone and a set of wings just like hers. Most importantly, though, this man had a halo above his head._

_But his voice wasn’t Alastor’s at all. Rather, this man’s voice was quite a bit deeper, with a slight Cajun accent. He summoned Eden over to him, taking her hand and kissing it gently. “Who are you?” she asked._

_“It is your dear Alastor.”_

_“But…how?”_

_The man chuckled. “It turns out redemption is possible, Eden!”_

_“How do you—okay, prove that you’re Alastor, then.”_

_“Is knowing your name not enough, sweetheart?”_

_Eden sighed, realizing that maybe this was Alastor after all._

_“Shall we?” asked the man claiming to be Alastor._

_“Shall we what?”_

_“Ascend to Heaven, my dear. I have been waiting for you.”_

_“Heaven?”_

_“Why, of course, my sweet. It turns out redemption **is** possible after all!”_

_“But…?”_

_“I know you have plenty of questions, dear, but we must get going.”_

_A sudden gust of wind lifted the two of them up, up, up into the deep red night sky and toward a glowing blue mass surrounded by a halo. Eden’s heart swelled as she saw it grow closer and closer, suddenly realizing that she and Alastor were on a cloud._

_As they rose higher, a soft waltz began to play from an unknown source. At that moment, Alastor thought it’d be just delightful of them to dance together on that cloud. As the cloud drew closer to Heaven, light shone brightly on them, illuminating their faces._

_Somehow, some way, they had made it._

_Alastor stepped off the cloud first, extending a gloved hand to Eden and helping her off. They approached the pearly gates, squeezing each other’s hands in delight. A cherub was there to greet them, a friendly smile adorning his face. Eden was beaming._

_However, things began to distort themselves as both walked toward the gates. They began to warp and redden, as if an illusion was being broken. Suddenly, the clouds Eden and Alastor broke apart and opened up, a fiery pit below them. The last thing Eden saw of Alastor as she fell was his face warping and melting, vacant holes where his eyes and mouth should have been, and he laughed manically as she fell._

_And fell._

_And fell._

_And fell._

_And fell._

_Eden was surprised to have landed on solid ground rather than burning alive. Her form was completely human—her light brown hair cut into a bob, softly framing her warm, freckled face. Her figure appeared as though she hadn’t eaten in weeks. She was alone in an empty room with no doors or windows or walls in sight._

_Everything was a blank slate._

_She noticed a faint orange glow from out of the corner of her eye and immediately turned to see what its source was. A hooded figure was in the distance carrying a single candle. Her pale hand immediately clued Eden in as to who it was._

_Charlie._

_Eden wanted to call out her name, but no sound left her body. Charlie approached her calmly and silently, a soft smile on her face and cheeks as red as apples. Despite her familiarity, something wasn’t quite right with Charlie._

_Eden didn’t have time to process this, though, as Charlie very suddenly shifted into her full demon form, attacking Eden and causing her to black out again._

_All she could feel now was…her bed?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have the next chapter up sooner than y'all think. I've been working on it for over a month now because I need to make sure I've handled a particular situation well enough, including making sure Alastor has somewhat in-character reactions to it. I will say NOW that the chapter needs a TW. Majorly.
> 
> Hoping to have it up by the end of the week if not sooner so, stay tuned ♥


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor makes a shocking discovery.
> 
> TW: Mention of self-harm, suicide, and violence. Read at your own risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a VERY risky chapter for me to write and I'm honestly scared about it but... here goes nothing. Also the most personal to me. 
> 
> Featuring more OOC stinky deer boy because yes. 
> 
> Please, if you are struggling, log off and reach out for help.   
> You are not alone.

Eden woke up abruptly in the middle of the night, half in a panic from her dream. She began hyperventilating, preparing herself for the worst sleep paralysis she had ever experienced. Fortunately, as she came to, she began to realize exactly where she was.

Somehow, some way, she ended up back at the hotel, in a familiar room, in a familiar bed. There was absolutely _no_ way she had freed herself and walked back. She felt too weak to do that. As she opened her eyes and noticed the soft orange glow of candlelight on her desk, she realized that she wasn’t alone.

Almost instantly, she began sobbing, reaching for the familiar form that had been occupying himself with a book for the better part of two days. He had refused to leave her side; even his meals were delivered to the room. Eden couldn’t form any words this time. All she could muster up the strength to do was weak sobbing as Alastor delicately moved her from the bed to his lap, rocking her back and forth as if she were a baby.

Finally, when she thought she was calmer, she spoke. “I’m so, so sorry for everything I’ve done.”

“I’m not angry with you, Eden. I am disappointed in your behavior, but I am not angry.”

“I’m disappointed in myself. I went way, way too far.”

“Darling, we shall speak more on the matter after I’ve bathed you.”

Alastor carried Eden to the bathroom and drew a bath, making sure that the water was warm enough to be comfortable, but not make her wounds sting. He undressed her, seeing all of her for the first time. It didn’t faze him at all—he just wanted to get her clean and cozy. He rinsed her hair and shampooed it, leaving no strand unwashed. Then, he put conditioner in it and left it while he sponged her body down.

It was then that he noticed her thighs. They were always covered, so he never would’ve known. What he noticed were scars—little white raised ones, some old and some barely healed. They were far too organized to be accidental. Alastor had to force himself to continue to wash Eden’s body, then rinse the conditioner from her hair.

As he did this, though, he couldn’t help but sit bewildered at this little secret Eden had hidden underneath all of those pretty dresses she always wore. How hadn’t he seen them before? How hadn’t _anyone_ noticed?

Right, they were in Hell. No one really cared about that kind of thing down here. You have scars? Great, so does everyone else. Still, Alastor _knew_ exactly where those scars had come from, and that thought scared him more than anything else. He knew what kind of demon Eden was. She was anxious, but usually downplayed everything or even hid it.

Suddenly, her initial quietness became more than just something that made Eden quirky. This wasn’t something adorable, or cute, or fun for her at all.

No, no. It was serious. It was a battle Eden had probably been fighting for years at this point.

Minutes later, she was dried off—even her hair—and in her pajamas. Alastor laid down in her bed, then invited her to join him. She sat on his legs, Alastor holding her hands loosely. “Now,” Alastor sighed, “I am led to believe you acted the way you did out of fear.”

“Yes,” Eden replied, just barely louder than a whisper.

“I have told you. I would _never_ leave you. You do realize that you…you hurt me. I had forgotten what that kind of pain felt like, love. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Still, you are, you have been, and you always will be _my_ sweetheart. This has been difficult for me but I want you to understand that you have changed me in ways absolutely no one expected. You are too good for Hell.”

“Not exactly.”

“I mean that with the utmost sincerity, darling.”

“Alastor, do you _really_ want to know what I did? The exact reason _why_ I’m in Hell?”

“If you would like to, dear.”

Eden sighed, her pulse increasing as she began to tell her story. “Alastor, I know you and most of the people here think I’m this precious, sweet thing that was mistakenly sent here—”

“You are, love. I don’t doubt that.”

“But I’m not. All my life, I have dealt with anxiety. I didn’t learn to speak until I was three, and went through school not speaking a word to most of my teachers. I had very few friends, and the ones I did befriended me to be nice, only to fall back into bullying me and treating me like shit. I had one friend that stuck with me through it all, and she helped me overcome that paranoia that I was feeling.

“When I was in college, I finally made a group of friends that stayed with me. I got a boyfriend. I was finally happy with myself and felt secure. Then, I started feeling paranoid again, and most of those friends left me. Colton, my boyfriend, stayed. He should’ve left while he could.

“The week before I died, I snapped. We were walking along the beach, then went for a drive. We got into a small argument—which was totally normal and I—” Eden took a deep breath, “I pulled over on the highway and strangled him until he stopped breathing. I drove to a secluded area with my _dead boyfriend’s fucking body_ and buried him in the woods, and I left. I washed my hands and my clothes.

“For the next week, I slowly lost my mind. I was so scared for when they’d find the body. I’d never murdered anyone! I didn’t know how to hide a body! Plus, my reputation at this point? I didn’t need anyone to know I’d killed someone.

“The day they found his body, I took my life. I overdosed. I didn’t want to go to jail, so I ended my life. That was my biggest mistake. I didn’t want to face the consequences of my own actions. I was a coward, and I lied to everyone I knew. Even if they hadn’t found the body, I would have done it again, no doubt. Alastor, I’m in Hell for a reason, and the fact that everyone has been so kind to me here it…I never deserved any of this. I ruined your image by softening you up.

“I’m not like you. Colton was a good guy. He never did anything bad in his life. He was concerned for me and I took my worry out on him. He is undoubtedly in Heaven right now and knowing that he wouldn’t ever speak to me if I were to be redeemed hurts more than anything else. I can’t just apologize for killing him. I can’t continue to ignore this sin.

“Alastor, I was so afraid of losing you that I lost myself in the process. I did everything I could to keep you entertained. You’ve been…weirdly sweet to me despite all I’ve been told. I know I’m a special case. I know you’re going to think differently of me after this. If you want to leave me, that’s fine. I deserve it anyway. I’ll just live out eternity alone…”

Eden couldn’t continue speaking. She began to cry again. Alastor pulled her in closer, holding her close to his chest with one arm and stroking her thigh with his other. “Dear, I must say, I am quite shocked by this confession. I didn’t think you were capable of such things. Do know that I do not want to leave you, _ever_. I have needed some sweetness in my life, and you have provided that to me. I needed to learn to understand people like you and to—”

“Stop thinking only about yourself?”

“Yes. The mortal soul is such a complicated thing. I’ve lived for many decades suppressing much of that complexity. The smile? Sure, it completed me. Why, a smile always makes others smile, right? I am far from weak, and a smile shows confidence! It’s easy to win anyone over that way.

“I still enjoy being sadistic toward others. But, Eden? I still have morals. You were the exact type of soul that made me question them. Trying to prank you…well, it almost hurt me, dear. I still could never figure out what it was about you that was stopping me from being my usual self around you. And to be…well, frank, this might be the first time I have been genuinely perplexed by anyone’s sin. I believe you—of course I do, why would you be here if you hadn’t sinned? I am…more shocked than anything.”

Eden pushed closer to Alastor, but he gently nudged her back. Though he was still smiling, Eden could tell Alastor was concerned about something. “What’s on your mind?”

“Darling, I noticed something while I was bathing you.”

Eden’s heart sank. She knew _exactly_ what he had seen.

“What?”

Alastor placed a hand on Eden’s knee, gently stroking it as he spoke. “Well, I noticed the scars on your thighs—”

“ ** _No!_** ” Eden pulled her shorts down and attempted to hide her scars.

“Shh, shh,” Alastor put both of his hands on Eden’s shoulders, then drew her in close to hug her and rub her back as she began to cry again. “Sweetheart, I don’t think there is a single sinner down here that doesn’t have their fair share of scars, many just like your own. I may not ever understand why you would do such a thing to yourself yet I understand why you would want to hide them. In fact..”

Alastor lifted his sleeves, revealing what seemed like hundreds of scars all over his arms, then did the same for his legs and torso. “While mine were mostly accidental, I understand. Life comes with its share of hardships and…well, this is Hell. Hell isn’t supposed to be _easy_ or _fun_ , as much as we’ve tried to make this damned place comfortable for you. Hell, even that damned spider hides pain underneath all of that blasted makeup he always wears. I wear a smile to hide my own pain. Those that survive here, we choose to hide our pain because only the strongest survive.”

“I’m not strong, at all.”

“You, dear? Why, if a frail little thing like you can survive a purge and being trapped by one of Hell’s most dangerous flora, and…well, befriending and courting _me_ , the Radio Demon, then I’d say you could survive anything.”

“I just got lucky, I guess. I shouldn’t have survived any of that—”

“But you did, didn’t you?”

Eden remembered how exactly she’d survived everything, and it all made sense to her. She sighed, shifting backwards a bit and pulling her shorts back up.

Alastor brushed his hand over Eden’s scars as she revealed more of them to him. “Sweetheart, it really pains me to see visible evidence of your own suffering. I need you to know that starting now, you are not to inflict harm on yourself because you are hurting inside. I also want you to know that I think no less of you for feeling the need to do this to yourself. It…it really does bother me a great deal that some of this could’ve been because of me.”

“I’m sorry,” Eden whispered.

“No need to apologize, my dear. All I’m asking is that you please stop hurting yourself over me.”

“I’ll try.”

“No, darling. You _will_ stop. I promise I am not anyone worth hurting yourself over.”

“Alastor,” Eden buried her face in the crook of Alastor’s neck, nuzzling into him. “What have I done to you?”

“All you’ve done is brought me the sweetness I’ve desperately needed for the past several decades. I do this for you and only for you, dear. I am still the Radio Demon, though, and I am still sadistic and awful. Why, we’ll be turning heads, you and I! Oh, what would such a horrible man such as myself be doing with such a sweet little thing like you attached to me?”

“But—”

“Uh, uh, uh, Eden,” Alastor shook his finger emphatically. “No more _buts_. Understood?”

“Yeah.”

A sliver of red sunlight poked through the curtains on the window. “Hah, suppose it’s a bit too late for us to sleep now, isn’t it?” Alastor asked as he produced two mugs—a cup of tea for Eden and a cup of black coffee for himself.

“I was just in a coma for Satan only knows how long,” Eden said as she took a sip from her cup. “I am _not_ thinking about sleeping right now.”

The two then sat in silence, watching the light get brighter and fill the room, cuddling and sipping their drinks without a single word.


	38. Chapter 38

Hell shouldn’t have been this forgiving for Eden.

Yet here she was, in the arms of ~~an angel~~ the most dangerous demon in Hell besides Lucifer himself, being held close, warm, safe. She had changed him into something he barely recognized, yet it felt good inside. He’d never admit it to anyone, really, but he _could_ be nice—sometimes. Alastor would never understand Eden—then again, even sweet little demons like Eden had the capacity to kill if they needed to, even if that killing wasn’t justified.

Eden was a rare case, and everyone knew as much. Anyone sent to Hell knew it only took one time to be cast into the Underworld. Perhaps Eden didn’t even get the privilege of going through Purgatory for the fact that she wouldn’t speak.

And that was okay.

Charlie would continue to tell Eden that Alastor needed her by his side to keep him tame. Eden grounded him in a way. And, that morning, as she traced his side with her claw and listened to his heart beating, she knew that, in some twisted way, they were destined to meet. Eden knew deep down that she couldn’t trust herself not to snap again. _This was Hell_. It would eventually throw something at her to torture her feelings yet again.

The Hotel was the only place she could safely stay in. She’d be a recluse for the rest of eternity if that meant she’d stay there forever. Even she was skeptical of Charlie’s cause, and, as much as she wanted redemption, Alastor made her question that possibility. Knowing that her one and only victim was up there, would God even let her in? The thought terrified her.

But for now, she only worried about what she would do to feel better sooner. Alastor couldn’t heal with his powers. In fact, she could tell how much he was straining at times _not_ to lick her skin. Any time she’d feel him rub his fingers over a wound, he’d stop and move his hand elsewhere. Sometimes, he’d brush over her scarred thighs as his way of silently telling her she was safe with him. He wasn’t going to hurt her.

There was no longer anything to be afraid of, and Alastor would make sure of that. Anyone who tried to hurt her would have to go through him, and it would _not_ end well for them.

In some weird way, Eden was lucky. She was protected. She didn’t know where she was going from here, but she’d have to make do.

\--

Unfortunately, despite Alastor’s attempts, Eden’s hair had become incredibly matted from her misadventure in the forest. Later that morning, he tried and tried and _tried_ to brush all of the knots back out, but it was no use. He really thought he’d done enough to fix her hair the night before. Even Eden could’ve sworn he’d gotten all the knots out.

Now, here she was, in Angel’s room, having her hair completely chopped off.

Her beautiful, long hair.

Angel was able to salvage anything from her shoulders upwards, but the rest needed a chop—so badly, in fact, that Angel’s regular haircutting scissors wouldn’t tame the beast. There was only one thing he really could do to get the job done.

Garden shears.

Despite how much this scared Eden to death, she had to let it happen. And, with a couple of passes and a little bit of fixing with normal scissors, Angel had gotten rid of those pesky mats. Eden couldn’t get over how different she felt—and looked—with a bob haircut. It had been about this short when she was alive, but less thick. She also felt odd without white ends. That wasn’t a concern, though. She knew they’d come back.

“I think I want to keep my hair like this,” she said, suddenly beaming. “I love it.”

“You should probably keep it like that. I mean, long hair like yours was is nice, but for a place like Hell…with hair that thick… you know. That shit sucks.”

“Absolutely.”

Angel smiled softly at Eden. “Ya know? I think there’s someone who might want to see you now…”

\--

Alastor sat in the kitchen, quietly reading a book while a chicken was being baked in the oven. The only sound that could be heard was his own radio static and Husk occasionally groaning about how bad his hangover was. The warm, comforting smell of coffee filled the room as he sipped from his cup. Suddenly, he felt a tiny pair of hands wrap loosely around his neck followed by someone rubbing her face up against his own. “Feeling better, darling?” Alastor asked as he finished his page, then dog-eared the page.

“Um, a little. Angel fixed my hair,” Eden said, blushing. She stood up and waited for Alastor to turn around and look. When he did, his smile widened with delight. Though her pretty long hair was no more, he couldn’t help but admire her new haircut. “This is, ehem, certainly a change I’ll have to get used to.”

Eden’s smile faded. “You don’t like it?”

“No, dear.” Alastor got up and approached Eden, taking her hands in his. “I love it.”

Eden smiled again as Alastor scooped her up into his arms and kissed her. “You’ll always be beautiful to me, sweetheart.”

Eden melted all over again, right into the kiss. It was in that moment Eden knew that she’d found the one she’d be spending the rest of eternity with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S FINALLY DONE!!!!  
> I wanna thank everyone who read this and left all kinds of wonderful comments. Thanks for all the kudos and bookmarks. Oh my God. Y'all are amazing. 
> 
> But, this story isn't over yet. 
> 
> December 2020.


End file.
